


defined by their histories

by sequestering



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Discrimination, M/M, News Media, celebrity culture and all it entails, media fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2020-01-04 22:05:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18352622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sequestering/pseuds/sequestering
Summary: In 2005, Sidney Crosby skated onto NHL ice as the first omega in professional hockey. Ten years and countless controversies later, he is a household name, a political icon and widely regarded as one of the greatest sportsmen alive. Now with the Pittsburgh Penguins set for another record-breaking season, he opens up about a life lived in the spotlight.(aka the media is awful, the fans are worse and Sid just wants to play hockey)





	1. The Early Years

**Author's Note:**

> This is real person fiction. It is inspired by real people and events but is in no way intended to be an even marginally accurate representation of them. If you found this through searching your own name or the name of someone you know, please, please press the back button.
> 
> I have tried to semi-accurately replicate NHL/press/internet culture of the time so this fic contains a great deal of sexism/ableism/homophobia. I think this is actually a very watered down version of the noughties but if you suspect that it may upset you then please stop reading. For a more detailed list of content warnings see the end notes.
> 
> I strongly recommend that you read this with the Creator Style on because otherwise the formatting will be all over the place. Speaking of which, if you have any issues with the formatting please let me know. I can at least try to fix it.
> 
> Huge thanks to [radialarch](https://radialarch.tumblr.com/) for being so generous with their coding and workskins.

Guardian Weekend  
News | Opinion | **Sports** | Culture | Lifestyle

On Thin Ice: surviving love, hate and hockey in an alpha's world  
In 2005, Sidney Crosby skated onto NHL ice as the first omega in professional hockey. Ten years and countless controversies later, he is a household name, a political icon and widely regarded as one of the greatest sportsmen alive. Now with the Pittsburgh Penguins set for another record-breaking season, he opens up about a life lived in the spotlight.  


By Cory Wilson  
16th December 2016

Meeting Sidney Crosby in person is a discomforting experience.

It's hard to articulate where this discomfort comes from. The man himself is polite to a fault, all smiles and fastidious Canadian manners. He has boundless patience for the hours of fan and media attention he receives every day. All questions, no matter how inane or invasive, are given suitably bland responses - a hell of a trick that. At every practice, he is first onto the ice and last off. He is the consummate leader, encouraging to rookies and receptive to his coaches. On paper, Crosby is the perfect athlete.

Yet, despite all this, there is something about him that niggles, something that puts people on edge. I'm far from alone in feeling this way. Crosby's more virulent detractors have never been shy about calling him "freakish" and "unnatural" along with other less flattering adjectives that you can fill in for yourselves. More interesting is that even his fans seem to agree. It's generally accepted that Crosby is a bit awkward in person, even just last week long-time Penguins reporter Dan Potash affectionately called Crosby "a bit of an odd one".

At first I think it might be his unconventional looks that are producing this effect. Crosby with his doe-eyes, huge lips and distinctive sugar-sweet scent is undeniably attractive. He is also 200 pounds of solid, bulky muscle and could bench press me without breaking a sweat. As hockey Twitter will attest, I would hardly be the first alpha to find my preferences up-ended by Sidney Crosby. Nor would I be the first to react poorly to this perceived threat to my masculinity.

As much as it pains my progressive sensibilities to admit it, physical attraction is likely a part of the problem, but there is something more to this near subconscious aversion to Crosby. It takes me a while to realise that the larger issue is his body language. On our initial meeting, Crosby greeted me with a firm handshake and then with traditionally deferential averted eyes. This set the pattern for our interactions: confident stance then a displayed neck; extended eye contact paired with a soft tone.

Essentially, his behaviour is constantly in flux, shifting between respectful submission and a steady confidence. Experts say that up to 90 percent of human communication is non-verbal, small wonder then that interactions with Crosby can feel so awkward. My brain is trying to fit him into a box, but Crosby defies all categorisation.

Of course, Crosby has spent his life breaking down boundaries. Even years before he presented, the media was fascinated by this up-and-coming superstar who excelled among players much older and many times larger than himself.

In fact, Crosby was only seven years old when he did his first interview. The clip is currently floating around Youtube with over a million views and, if you have a minute, I thoroughly recommend you check it out. Baby Sid is frankly adorable. He sits on a locker room bench, little legs swinging from a seat that is far too high for him and grinning gap-toothedly at the camera. He tells Charlene Sadler of the _Canada National Post_ , in his polite and soft-spoken manner, "You have to do your best and work hard and things will happen. You can make it if you try."

I've heard people laugh at that. They take the childish words as evidence that Crosby has never had much of a personality, that he was born spewing out mindless, non-controversial platitudes. Those who knew him as a child tell me that this could not be further from the truth. For Crosby, those were more than empty words, they were how he lived. His relentless hard work was the reason he'd attracted the attention of a national paper at an age when most kids are still working out how to dangle.

No matter the activity, Crosby gave it his absolute all. With that drive and his natural athleticism, the young prodigy excelled at pretty much everything - baseball to running to swimming. His mother, Trina Crosby, laughs to recall how a lifeguard at the local pool once told her, on seeing Sid learning to swim, "I've never seen a four-year-old with developed pecs before." But like every proper little Canadian, or at least all the Canadian kids I've ever met, Crosby's real love was hockey.

Before meeting Crosby I'd written off half the anecdotes about his early devotion as urban legends, the kind of stories that get made up by friends and family as proof that they'd always known he'd make it big. Apparently though, in Crosby's case, they're all true. He played shinny and pond-hockey for hours. He had his room plastered with posters of hockey greats. He shot pucks at anything or anyone who would stand still long enough. To my great hilarity, I'm told that "anything" included his eighty-year-old grandmother Linda Crosby, who would "play goal" while she sat in a chair in the living room.

Crosby's dedication paid off. Coaches were regularly astounded by his skating, his hockey sense and his enthusiasm. Pee-Wee (typically hockey for those aged 11-12) Coach Paul Mason, said of his ten-year-old mentee, "He was underage, but he was the top player. He dominated and every team knew that he was the player you had to stop." But Crosby was unstoppable. In 2001, competing with the Triple-A Midget team Dartmouth Subways, he was playing kids who were two or three years older than him - and outclassing them all. His star continued to rise in 2002 when, early in the year, the Halifax Mooseheads, put in a request to have Crosby classified as an 'exceptional player' so allowing him to play with them a year early. Although the petition was rejected, it was yet another sign of exciting things to come for the young phenom. With coaches singing his praises and a star-studded future within scenting distance, fourteen-year-old Sidney Crosby was already emerging as a national obsession.

Then, in April 2002, it all came crashing down. Crosby presented.

 

 

You have one new message. Main menu. To listen to your messages press one. For more op- BEEP.

First new message. Received today at 1.43pm.

"Hi, this is Annabel from Digby General Healthcare. I'm calling for Trina Crosby to let her know that we have Sidney's KOS testing results. Please give us a call back as soon as possible and we'll set up an appointment to discuss."

To return the call at your normal rate press hash. BEEP.

 

 

**From:** Lisa Huang (lisa.huang@nshealth.ca)  
**To:** me (troy.crosby@hotmail.com)  
**Subject:** Supporting Your Cross-Oriented Child  
**Attached:** Stages of puberty: what happens to male omegas? (pdf); All About Puberty For Kids (pdf); Our Daughters & Sons: Questions & Answers for Parents of Cross-Oriented Children (pdf).

Dear Troy,

Further to our conversation on Thursday, I've attached some additional informational pamphlets on cross-orientated omegas and the resources available for you and your family.

To reiterate, I see no reason why Sydney should not be able to continue playing hockey competitively for now. You are right that physical differences between male alphas and omegas are less significant than generally thought, especially at that age.

However I do strongly suggest that you keep an eye on his mental health. Spending a lot of time in aggressive and alpha-dominated environments can cause increased stress and have serious health implications for young omegas. Watch out for shaking fits, apparently unprompted mental drops, and discomfort with submission. If you should spot any of these symptoms, I recommend he come in for a check-up.

I would be very surprised if Sidney maintains interest in hockey. I hate to stereotype but in my experience an omega's natural preference for more gentle pursuits will often assert itself following presentation.

Do make use of the attached resources and feel free to reach out to the surgery for support.

Best,  
Lisa Huang

Outreach and Education  
Digby General Hospital and Healthcare

Disclaimer  
The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.  
This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Firmcast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a Service (SaaS) for business. Providing a safer and more useful place for your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and compliance. To find out more click here.

 

 

standingtogether.org/uploads/Daughters_Sons_Publication.pdf  
**Our Daughters & Sons: Questions & Answers for Parents of Cross-Oriented Children**

Introduction  
Is my child different now?  
Why is my child cross-oriented?  
Why am I uncomfortable with his or her orientation?  
Should we consult a doctor or psychologist?  
How do we tell family and friends?  
Are there special legal concerns for my child?  
Resources

**Introduction**  
Finding out your son or daughter is cross-oriented can be difficult. Parents often feel guilty. They ask themselves questions like, "Did I do anything to cause this?" "Should we have done something differently when he was a child?" "Is it my fault?" Questions like these are common, but do not help.

Rejecting your child also is not a good response. He or she is likely very confused and scared. It could be devastating if you reject him or her at this difficult time. Your child needs you very much!

So take a deep breath and think. Take a little time to come to grips with this news. You may need to readjust your dreams for your child's future. You may have to deal with your own negative stereotypes of cross-oriented people. But you must not reject your teenager. He or she is still your child and needs your love and support.

We can tell you that - if you choose to - you will emerge from this period with a stronger, closer relationship with your child than you have ever had before. Read on to find the helpful information that will enable you to better understand your[CLICK TO EXPAND]

 

 

Omegas account for nearly 5% of the male population. Looking at the number of omega participants in men's professional sports, one would be forgiven for thinking it's far lower than that. Out of the 5,500 male athletes competing at this year's Olympics, only fourteen will be omegas.

In 2002, even those numbers would have been considered ridiculously high. Not one of the four major North American sports leagues had ever drafted an omega. And why would they? Smaller, weaker and predisposed to submission, why would any omega even want to compete in a violently physical sport like hockey? On being asked in 2000 whether the NHL would ever see an omega player, Mike Pallon, general manager for the Chicago Blackhawks, responded, "No, absolutely not. I'm just thinking of my wife, my daughter and no, I would hate to see them on the ice. It's a rough game and it's just not one for omegas." General sentiment held that omegas, regardless of gender, should stick with the pom-poms and sparkly outfits belonging to the NHL's ice girls and boys. Leave the hockey to the alphas.

In that culture, Crosby's presentation was ground-breaking. Almost overnight hockey media circles went wild. To readers who aren't in the hockey world, that might sound like an exaggeration. What kind of attention was really paid to a 14-year-old no matter how good he was? I promise you, this is no exaggeration. The reason Canadians so dominate the hockey world is because they have turned a system for mass manufacturing sporting super-stars into reality television. Children with talent are identified at exceptionally young ages, then channeled through various junior and intermediate leagues right into the NHL. Along the way their stats and abilities are recorded, analysed and dissected by thousands of fans, coaches and analysts. It's a bizarre culture, a combination of family-fun entertainment, sports mania, and juicy human interest - the kind of addictive mixture that flourishes in our digital age.

Crosby's presentation became the hockey scandal of the year. His preternatural talent, which had been a sign of his exciting future, became evidence of some form of tampering. An omega simply couldn't play like that so what kind of dodgy dealings had been happening behind closed doors? Dozens of narratives sprung up: he had been using his scent to dope opposing players; he was manipulating coaches and scouts with his sexual wiles; he was an embarrassment to the sport. Other commentators had different questions. If Crosby had made it so far, what was to stop other omegas doing the same? Why was he the first to have achieved such recognition? What was it about hockey, rather than basketball or football? If Trina and Troy, Crosby's father, had felt overwhelmed by the media before their son's presentation, it was nothing compared to the feeding frenzy that would dominate their lives for the months following the announcement.

 

 

r/hockey   
Midget phenom Sidney Crosby presents as an omega.  
u/mntbaa  
See press announcement here.  
tldr; KOS testing came through in early April. Crosby intends to continue competing.  
Share   578 Comments   ・・・   ↑ 2.8k ↓ 

u/Satanic_Pope  
This thread is a fucking nightmare  
・・・   ↑ 921 ↓

u/NapOleon  
_sorts by controversial_  
・・・   ↑ 280 ↓

u/prophetofpain  
It can't be that bad...  
Edit: It is exactly that bad.  
・・・   ↑ 23 ↓

u/Kirkelz96  
There's just no winners here.  
Crosby will be out within the year. He might be good enough now but as everyone else hits puberty, he won't be able to keep up with the other guys physically or mentally - there's a reason there are no omegas in the NHL. He seems like a sweet kid and it sucks for him. Sucks for us too because he had a lot to give to the sport.  
・・・   ↑ 740 ↓

u/thesheriff  
Exactly. This is really not the big deal some people are making it out to be.  
It does not, as SJWs are claiming, prove that alphas and omegas can compete at the same level. I get that Crosby is a "phenom" at the moment and everyone expected him to be a top 3 draft pick. But Crosby is 14. He is hitting puberty now. The alphas he is playing with are 15-16. They won't go through puberty for another few years. It is unusual (and impressive) for an omega to have made it so far but it will not last. In a few years, all the guys he is outclassing now are going to get a boost in speed, strength and size that he won't be able to match. The SJWs making a fuss about this are setting him up for disappointment.  
・・・   ↑ 839 ↓

u/firstandlast  
this should be higher. half the people in this thread clearly failed basic biology   
・・・   ↑ 487 ↓

u/rob_in_the_hood  
Guess we'll have to start looking for the next next Gretzky  
・・・   ↑ 79 ↓

u/luigi_lemieux  
OKAY BUT HOW THE FUCK DID NO ONE NOTICE???  
Seriously, Crosby's almost 15 now. That's pretty fucking late to present. Plus look at his pics he's serious jail bait with those lips. Never seen an alpha who's half that pretty  
・・・   ↑ 503 ↓

u/mynameisnotjohn  
Someone definitely noticed. I'd bet they've been smothering him with neutraliser for months. Crosby was Dartmouth's only hope for a cup and he accounts for about half their ticket sales. You'd have to be retarded to give that up. I'd bet they're only going public now because something's happened to force it.  
・・・   ↑ 489 ↓

u/lesincompetents  
Agreed.  
There had better be an investigation because this would absolutely have been an unfair advantage to Crosby. How many 15/16yr old alphas are going to be at their best when they keep scenting omega on the ice? No wonder he's so good one-on-one.  
・・・   ↑ 221 ↓

u/andtheducks  
Yeah. I played juniors for a while and locker rooms can get ... boisterous. Find it difficult to believe that Crosby didn't ever get scruffed or scented or put down or something else. That's how players are especially the younger ones  
・・・   ↑ 99 ↓

u/pm_me_titties  
ffs I swear there's a new 'next gretzky' every other day. no way was this kid that special  
・・・   ↑ 368 ↓

u/waynethebat  
You're not wrong but if you look purely at Crosby's stats against guys a lot older than him, you can see why people got excited.   
・・・   ↑ 294 ↓

 

 

**Welcome back, Sidney. Your recent Google searches:**  
differences between alphas and omegas  
physical differences between alphas and omegas  
physical differences between male alphas and omegas  
omegas in the nhl  
omegas in hockey  
why are there no omegas in the nhl

**People also searched for:**  
omegas hot  
male omegas hot  
male omega olympics  
male omega figure skater  
male omega diver

 

 

The story goes that it was then that the abuse began, when the Crosby family refused to do the decent thing and pull their omega son out of competitive sports. Like most media narratives, it contains little more than traces of truth. In reality, Crosby had already been the target of verbal and physical abuse from opposing teams and parents for years. With titles and triumphs came resentment, with media coverage came recognition. "I remember being in Pee-Wee, a guy trying to break my leg," Crosby says, swinging an imaginary stick to demonstrate. "It wasn't even during a play: I was going to a face-off, and a guy just two-handed it right at my knee - like a baseball bat."

If the players were out of line, they were only following the example set by their parents. At 11, Crosby would sit in the stands during tournaments, wearing shoulder pads but no sweater; too often parents, seeing the name on his jersey, had jeered him to tears. By 14, the abuse had escalated to chants of 'break his legs' and alphas yelling about snapping Crosby's neck, how he was going to get himself killed. Troy and Trina found that their task was no longer just to drive him home - but also to console their sobbing son on route. Shocking though it sounds, in junior sports, where hopes and costs are high but income is low and infrequent, this kind of behaviour is not even considered wholly unusual.

After his presentation, the situation became untenable. Even the Crosbys, accustomed as they were to the darker side of sporting success, were shocked. On ice, the slashes, punches and boardings spiralled out of control and into the territory of outright assault. The verbal abuse escalated to match. Alphas, already angry at seeing their sons beaten by a kid several years their junior, were apoplectic to see them so overshadowed by an omega. Rape threats and orientationist slurs were making an appearance at every game. In the space of two months, Troy was ejected from four stadiums for scuffling with parents from opposing teams.

"Yeah, I was scared for him. It was getting... getting really nasty and I couldn't be there all the time," says Troy remembering the final few games of the 2001-2002 season. "I knew he had something special, with his hockey and the way he worked and the way he played, he could go places. But we weren't sure it was worth it anymore." The family had worked for years to make sure that their son was never denied the opportunity to fulfill his potential: missed mortgage payments, scrimping on groceries, an extra job for Trina. After all that, the decision to re-think Crosby's future in hockey was agonising. But enough was enough. They discussed their options.

"I think, it sounds silly now, we suggested figure skating and speed-skating," says Trina. "Lots of skating because we knew we'd never get him off the ice. But really we would have been happy with anything." Anything that didn't come with threats of violent assault goes unsaid. When they brought it up with their son, Crosby sat and listened earnestly to his parents. He even took a few figure skating classes, all bundled up in a hoodie to avoid recognition, before telling them, politely but firmly, that, more than anything, he wanted to stick with hockey. Hockey, though, was slipping further out of Sid's grip by the day.

Amid the chaos, Crosby had finished with the title of highest scorer of the season - from a pool of players who were two and three years older. His performance at the Air Canada Cup national midget championship was equally exceptional, finishing as the highest scoring player in the tournament with 24 points in seven games. For readers without a familiarity with hockey, I can promise you that those stats boggle the mind. Crosby had demonstrated uncanny vision and an ability to execute highly skilled plays against the best junior teams in Canada. Perhaps even more impressively, he remained consistently friendly and polite with the media. In a profile for _The Hockey News_ , the young Crosby told Willy Palov, “I suppose that the extra pressure probably made me play a little more desperate, but I think I thrived on it and ended up coming out pretty good."

The 2002 hockey community though was not ready for an omega super-star. Despite Crosby's MVP-worthy performance, the Dartmouth Subways were narrowly defeated in the finals. Crosby was passed over for every major award and the press, scenting blood on the ice, dived in.

They struck gold with Kyle Grayler, one of Crosby's Dartmouth linesmen. Perhaps bitter at the loss, perhaps angry at being so side-lined by his omega teammate, perhaps just looking for his five minutes of fame, Grayler opened up. In a series of interviews, he derided everything from Crosby's attitude to his personal life to his skills.

Grayler soon faded into obscurity but his comments have found their way into nearly every expose of Crosby ever written. "It's awkward having him around. He's not a team player, won't go out with the guys, can't take a joke. At, you know, a certain point having a player like that messes with team dynamics." Grayler stopped short of saying that Crosby's teammates couldn't stand him but the implication was obvious. "Locker room poison" was what _Hockey Today_ labelled him and who could be surprised? What team of red-blooded alpha males would enjoy being ordered around by a jumped-up, know-it-all omega? A performance that would have made any other player the consensus first pick for the QMJHL, had left Crosby a pariah among his teammates and a liability for clubs.

Contract offers dried up, scouts ummed and ahhed, and Troy's increasingly desperate calls were met with radio silence. Most heart-breaking for Sid was the retraction of an invitation to an IMG prospects camp in Los Angeles. Troy and Trina had already bought the plane tickets as an early fifteenth birthday present and it would have been a chance for Sid to meet his childhood hero, Wayne 'The Great One' Gretzky. Sid had been out of his mind with excitement, counting down the days for weeks. Out of that whole awful year, Trina says that her clearest memory is of telling Sid that the camp was no longer willing to take him. "Sid just broke down in the car. He'd been so brave for so long and I think that was just the final straw. He wouldn't eat dinner, wouldn't shoot pucks, just went to his room and cried himself to sleep."

 

 

**From:** Stan Butler (stan.butler@hockeycanada.ca)  
**To:** me (troy.crosby@hotmail.com)  
**Subject: Re: LA IMG Prospects Camp 2002**

Troy,

In light of recent events, it's been decided that Sidney would be better off giving this year's camp a miss. This is not a decision we make lightly but we simply don't have the structures in place to suitably accommodate an omega player. As I'm sure you understand, it would be inappropriate to house him in the same facility as the rest of the players.

We wish you and Sidney all the best in your future endeavours,

Stan Butler  
Junior Coach  
Hockey Canada

 

 

The Hockey News @TheHockeyNews  
Record-breaking midget wunderkind Sidney Crosby has presented as an omega. How the QMJHL reacts could change the future of hockey. https://t.co/HTyiFfDR8M

MrRationalHockey @rational_hockey  
Replying to @TheHockeyNews and 3 others  
While, we're at it, let's put girls into the NHL as well. No way that can go wrong...

MrRationalHockey @rational_hockey  
Replying to @TheHockeyNews and 3 others  
In all fairness though. If the omega wants to be in the NHL and has the skill level to make the cut then good for him. Let's say that said omega instigates a fight with an alpha. How would this be viewed/handled?

 

BuzzFeed Canada @BuzzFeedCanada  
This Is The Best Junior Hockey Player In Canada - And He Just Presented Omega https://bzfd.it/2WxS374

Julia @JuliaSaysStuff  
Replying to @BuzzFeedCanada  
That poor kid is in for a world of pain.

mari's rainbow machine @sunshinemari  
Replying to @BuzzFeedCanada  
amazing!!! it would mean so much to so many little girls and boys to see an omega playing professional hockey #historymakers

 

The Athletic NHL@TheAthleticNHL  
"It killed team unity": @ryanaddams talks to players who have dealt with the tricky reality of mixed orientation teams  https://t.co/h6kOPCvmXT

GOAT Jaromir Jagr @jaromirjagrbomb  
Replying to @TheAthleticNHL  
What was anyone expecting? If my omega heard what I say when I'm on ice she'd divorce me. Some things only alphas can understand.

 

 

Crosby recounts the events following his presentation with a wry smile and the ease of over ten years distance. Trina recounts them with the anger of a mother who never quite got over someone making her soft-hearted boy so miserable. Crosby had been set up as a "can't-miss prospect" since the age of five. He was feted as the next Gretzky. He was the bright future of the sport. Trina insists that neither her son nor the family had ever sought out that kind of admiration; it was the media, the fans, the hockey world in general who had piled their hopes for the future of a sport onto the shoulders of a child. Sid had asked for none of it, but it was him who paid the price when he turned from golden child to outcast.

Becoming frantic, the family turned to less conventional solutions. Today, inversion therapy is heavily regulated in Canada. In 2002, it was widely considered one of the kindest ways to deal with the cross-oriented. How could an alpha find happiness, trapped in the weak body of a woman? What kind of life could a male omega lead, cut off from the naturally dominant and protective instincts of his sex? In the media fire-storm that had followed Crosby's presentation, one of the many groups to crawl out of the woodwork were the hardline traditionalists who claimed that the right treatment could "correct" the unfortunate "mistake" of cross-orientation.

Crosby's parents admit they considered it. "We were getting desperate. We wanted him happy and, for Sid, happy always meant hockey," says Troy. One team who cannot be named for legal reasons were willing to take Crosby on for the looming 2002-2003 season, provided that he received treatment for his "condition". The organisation would provide full financial support. With the new season fast approaching and money running out, this was looking like one of Sid's few remaining routes into professional hockey. Crosby himself was hesitant but willing to do what his doting parents thought best.

In another world, one not so very different from our own, Sidney Crosby would have started inversion therapy at a discreet clinic in Halifax that July. As it is, the hockey world and male omegas in sports everywhere owe much to the efforts of Trina Crosby. What her exhaustive research into methods used at inversion clinics turned up - potentially lethal cocktails of illegal and highly-addictive drugs, electro-shock therapy, intense physical and verbal abuse - was enough to scare the family into cancelling the deal.

It was at this critical moment that Troy got a call from Tom Ward, junior coach at Shattuck-St. Mary's. A co-educational boarding school in Minnesota with a heavy focus on athletic achievement, think of Shattuck like a Hogwarts for hockey players. It offered the opportunity to get away from the strangers knocking on the Crosbys' front-door at all hours, to escape the virulent on-ice abuse, and to give Sid a normal school experience without constant media scrutiny. Most importantly, as a co-educational school, Shattuck was well-equipped to deal with any issues arising from his dynamic. The family was devastated to see him so far from home, but the devastation was tempered by a done-deep relief. Crosby's career wasn't over yet.

 

 

USHR: 7/25/2002  
Shattuck-St. Mary's Takes Omega Super-Star  
Kevin Price, Hockey Reporter

**5'8'', 167 lb.** Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia native Sidney Crosby, the 14-year-old omega whose shock presentation attracted national attention, will be heading to Shattuck-St. Mary's this fall. Neither Crosby nor Shattuck have confirmed that he will be continuing his hockey career however Shattuck's reputation for churning out future stars speaks for itself.

Until recently Crosby was toted as a Canadian wunderkind, scoring an astounding 217 points (106g,111a) in 81 games to take his team to the finals of this year's Air Canada Cup. The legitimacy of his success has since been called into question. Analysts have suggested that Crosby's pre/early-presentation scent may have been a strong factor in how both opponents and referees reacted to his play. Scent doping through artificial means is strictly forbidden but the line is more blurred when the effect is naturally occurring. Authorities have declared that they found no evidence of foul play but should Crosby continue to compete the QMJHL and eventually the NHL may well rule differently.

For now, Crosby will certainly be one to keep an eye on. He has a capacity for eye-popping moves, great hands and explosive speed. More unusually for a young player, he also has a good head for the game and is always ready to get off the perimeter and mix it up. There are many who will be hoping that these talents will be enough to allow Crosby to keep up against physically superior opponents.

 

 

From: Taylor [18:12]  
To: Sid  
ive already moved into your bedroom!!! :D :D :D

From: Sid [18:14]  
To: Taylor  
I'm only gone til Xmas!

From: Sid [18:16]  
To: Taylor  
Guess since I cant come home, Id better stay here forever...

From: Taylor [18:17]  
To: Sid  
:( maybe ill move out when you come back. if youre very very nice to me

From: Sid [18:19]  
To: Taylor  
Promise?

From: Taylor [18:20]  
To: Sid  
promise :) <3 :)

 

 

Crosby lights up when he talks about his time at Shattuck. "I loved the atmosphere. You can have friendships wherever you play, but at Shattuck, you lived together, went to class together, traveled and played together. You get to know each other—everyone—a lot faster and a lot better." He could and did skate nearly every day - shinny and messing around with pucks on the days without formal hockey practice. Long exposure to future stars made Shattuck a more grounded environment where Sid could be treated like any one of the dozens of boys who tried out for the school hockey team; he didn't receive any special allowances in class or on the ice and under these circumstances the young star flourished.

It was here that he met Jack Johnson, the defenseman who would follow Crosby into the NHL and become a lifelong friend. The two were the only underclassmen on their team and quickly became inseparable. Johnson boasts that it was because of his friendship with Sid that he gained his 'enforcer' reputation, "I didn’t want anyone to give him a cheap shot or anything. I enjoyed looking out for him.” Crosby rolls his eyes at this. Shattuck was also where, for the first time, Crosby was forced to navigate the locker room politics of being the only omega, not just in the team, but in the league. In a sport where brawls break out regularly, it's standard for the more skilled players to look to larger d-men for protection. For Sid, going to larger alpha teammates for protection opened him up to a very different kind of criticism, namely that omegas were too soft for contact sports. The fifteen-year-old Johnson, though, was deaf to this kind of nuance and accumulated over ninety minutes of penalty time for his best friend.

Crosby would spend only one year at Shattuck but that proved enough time to somewhat rehabilitate his image. During that year he would lead them to victory at the Midget National Championship and prove decisively wrong the naysayers who had claimed that an omega would never keep up with alphas once past puberty. At the end of the season, he was drafted to the struggling Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL team. Whether or not the move was intended to be a simple publicity stunt, Crosby seized a hold of the opportunity. The on and off-ice abuse was worse than ever, he was criticised on national television for his triumphs and his losses alike, he was twice snubbed by the Canadian World Juniors team - and he exploded past all competition.

"Every talent that you need to be a hockey player, this omega's got it," commented an astounded Frank Bonello, the Director of NHL Central Scouting. By the end of his second and final season in the QMJHL, Crosby was second only to Wayne Gretzky for total points scored. With the 2004-5 NHL lockout forcibly directing the eyes of the North American hockey world towards their young prospects, the question of the 2005 NHL draft and Sidney Crosby's future in hockey was now at the forefront of the national conversation.

 

 


	2. Welcome to the NHL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NB: All tumblr, reddit and twitter usernames were chosen at random. If any are active, they are in no way affiliated with this fic.

 

 

Post Sports @PostSports  
Cold Reality: The NHL has become the first major American sports league to lose a full season to a labor dispute https://wapo.st/2KpNjyO

Slate @Slate  
In order to survive, the NHL needs to become more like pro soccer. No, I'm not crazy. https://slate.trib.al/T6Q6aHW

Guardian sport @guardian_sport  
Greedy NHL bosses freeze out the ordinary fan. Ice hockey as a sport needs its audience to feel like participants and not merely consumers, says @Ian_Losswood. https://t.co/h6kHRKvmXT

The Onion @TheOnion  
NHL Giving It Another Try Despite Advice Of Friends, Family.  
Hints, suggestions, and outright pleas that it should "stop embarrassing itself" have all been ignored. https://trib.al/2D918nB

Forbes @Forbes  
Ice Capades: The National Hockey League is hemorrhaging money but is owning a hockey team really a shortcut to bankruptcy? http://on.forbes.com/6029YwLf9

The Hockey News @TheHockeyNews  
One Meltdown Too Many: Is the World Hockey Association the future of hockey in North America? https://t.co/m7kFZSlttQO

 

 

Today we tend to forget that the NHL in 2005 was a league in crisis. The lockout, largely attributed to financial difficulties, had set hockey's struggle for mainstream recognition back years. With scores of fans, coaches and even players moving on to greener pastures, the league was set to take a baseball-style nosedive in popularity - potentially devastating for an organisation that was already cash-strapped. If hockey was to survive, it needed a hero, and it needed him fast.

What the league wanted was an exemplar of their new kind of player. Fans were sick to death of their many 'leaders' and all their coded, tone-deaf whining about money. They needed someone willing make the game look appealing, but to do so quietly. Someone who did not stand out in any way - beyond his level of play.

Sidney Crosby was decidedly not this hero. In other circumstances he may not have even been allowed to play. But, as the cliche goes, beggars can't be choosers. His unfailingly pleasant demeanor, pronounceable name and boyish good looks made him eminently marketable. That he was an omega complicated the narrative, but it was also a guarantee of national interest. The first omega to play in any major American sports league was a serious claim to fame. It meant a million think pieces, angry YouTube videos and a national conversation about omegas in sports. In other words, a goldmine of free publicity that the NHL would mine for all its worth. 

When I ask if he was prepared for the scrutiny, there is something wistful in Crosby's tone. "I was so excited to be picked at all that I don't think I thought much about anything else." He adds laughing that, "I was used to the media by then. It just came with hockey." The NHL at least seemed to agree. They had no qualms about pushing Crosby into the limelight whenever possible.

So in the 2005 NHL draft, it was to a packed audience of reporters, documentary crews and thousands of fans at home across the country that Crosby was picked first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. History was made.

 

 

**greatzky**

GUYS

THE PENS JUST DRAFTED SIDNEY CROSBY

THERE IS AN OMEGA IN THE NHL

Source: greatzky   #finally!!!! #i'm crying #he's so perfect #do us proud sid   
**79,673 notes**

 

 

r/hockey ・ r/all   
Sidney Crosby will be the first omega to play in a major North American sports league  
u/mikepitpat  
washingtonpost.com ↗  
Share   3.4k Comments   ・・・   ↑ 9.8k ↓ 

u/vikingblood  
I'm fucking embarrassed for the NHL, especially the pens. This is such a blatant publicity stunt and completely undermines the integrity of the sport.  
・・・   ↑ 5.3k ↓

u/Kirkelz96  
If you thought the refs were bad now just wait. They'll treat Crosby like glass.  
・・・   ↑ 3.7k ↓

u/kalik67  
20 game suspension for looking at him wrong.  
・・・   ↑ 1.3k ↓

u/stellarbeginnings  
You joke but this is going to be a real problem that the NHL seems to be completely ignoring in favour of virtue signalling. I've played with omegas in my beer league and it's a difficult situation. Decent alphas just don't want to hit an omega that hard. And if you do, and they get hurt (as they always do) then you're the asshole for playing normal hockey.  
・・・   ↑ 986 ↓

u/promisedpan  
that's fucking dumb. if you'd watched any of the q you'd know that alphas hit him as hard as anyone.   
・・・   ↑ 21 ↓

u/pocketing  
I just feel sorry for him. Someone has clearly forced him into this to push a political agenda but there is a reason omegas and alphas don't compete together competitively. Psychologically, omegas cannot handle intense aggression and violence, especially not when directed at them from alphas. When Crosby quits in a year due to serious mental health issues, I hope that whoever manipulated him into this faces some consequences.  
・・・   ↑ 701 ↓

u/exposurepay  
I give it a month before the sexual harassment claims start  
・・・   ↑ 598 ↓

u/mdlt85  
In unrelated news, Mario has offered to have Sid live with him during his rookie season.  
・・・   ↑ 1.1k ↓

u/oldmanofthesea  
Well, that explains a lot. His poor wife  
・・・   ↑ 220 ↓

u/alphaalfafa  
That sly dog. If he wasn't fucking over the pens to get his knot wet I'd almost be impressed   
・・・   ↑ 117 ↓

u/klmaximus  
lol two weeks max  
・・・   ↑ 11 ↓

u/MayorMatthews  
Funny how many people are suddenly hockey experts whenever a post reaches r/all. Crosby is easily the best player in the Q right now. He's been top scorer twice running, won the Memorial Cup, Ed chynoweth trophy, President's cup, etc etc. All of which are decided purely on skill with no way for pro-omega bias to change anything.  
・・・   ↑ 387 ↓

u/nametworeasons  
Wow, reddit being shitty to omegas? Shocker. /s  
・・・   ↑ -9 ↓

u/orrwhat  
There's a difference between being orientationist and being justifiably concerned about a decision that could change the whole future of the league.  
・・・   ↑ 123 ↓

u/glitchmeup  
I don't care what his orientation is. If the boy is good enough to play in the NHL then he should play and he should be treated exactly like everyone else.  
・・・   ↑ 1.3k ↓

u/GoFukYourself  
This is the only reasonable stance. If he's treated like everyone else then no one will have a problem. We will only have a problem if there is one set of rules for Crosby and one for the rest.  
・・・   ↑ 881 ↓

u/BYolz  
I always said itd be possible for a male omega whos a total freak of nature to play in the pros  
・・・   ↑ 527 ↓

u/large_hill  
Can't help but notice that some users with no flairs and long histories of posting in weird subs have arrived for what I'm sure they intend to be open and honest conversation made in good faith.  
・・・   ↑ 15 ↓

 

 

The New York Times @nytimes  
Deal Is Ratified, and N.H.L Is Ready To Roll - With One Big Change https://nyti.ms/2GDusCN

Washington Post @washingtonpost  
Meet NHL player Sidney Crosby, the first omega in North American pro sports. wapo.st/3JKkog4

Red Eye Show @RedEyeShow  
@bill_schulz and @greggutfield discuss the London bombings, Sidney Crosby and the world's cutest kitten on tonight's show. 3am ET on @FoxNews

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
Coach Therrien on whether Sidney Crosby will be a problem in the locker room: "We're not worried at all. If you have learned anything from Willie O'Ree, it is that teammates are always the first to accept. It will be society who has to learn tolerance."

Colin Franks @colin_franks  
The only hockey player my girlfriend is allowed to like is Sidney Crosby #NoReasonWhy

 

 

As with all reality television, much of the event was staged. Crosby, unlike the nineteen other top-ranked young prospects, had known exactly whose jersey he'd be wearing at the end of the night.

Months earlier, the Penguins organisation had won the draft lottery giving them first pick of the new prospects - it had been a new lease of life for the struggling organisation. At the time, the Penguins were a bad team with a shoddy stadium and even worse attendance. Rumour had it that they were one bad turnover away from a forcible transfer to Kansas - a worse fate for a hockey team is hard to imagine.

The Penguins' last hope was that drafting the new omega wunderkind could haul them back onto the hockey map but, with only a 1 in 16 chance of winning the lottery, even that was a long shot. If you want some idea of the relief felt by the organisation at their unbelievable luck, the documentary of that year's lottery shows Tom McMillan, Penguins VP of Communications, jumping up and running out of the room the moment the result was revealed. When later questioned, he said that he was going outside to scream: Pittsburgh had found their saviour.

 

 

**To:** me (sidney.crosby@hotmail.com)  
**CC:** Troy Crosby (troy.crosby@hotmail.com)  
**From:** Pat Brisson (pat@caagency.com)  
**Subject: Contract Negotiation Update**

Hi Sid,

A brief update on the progress of your contract negotiations. We're currently looking at $600,000 per season with the standard potential performance bonuses worth 10%. I recognise that this may be lower than what you expected but Patrick is taking a chance here and he's not unreasonable to expect some small financial compensation.

In addition, owing to your unique personal circumstances, Patrick is insisting on some changes to the standard player morality clauses. It's looking to be fairly similar to the Reebok contract with an additional reference to sexual behaviors. I know you're a sensible boy so I don't expect it'll cause any problems but I'll go over the details in our call next Tuesday.

Let me know if you have any pressing concerns in the meantime.

Pat

Pat Brisson

Co-Head Creative Artists Agency  
+177125 266392

 

 

**greatzky**

my post about the draft blew up and i am being bombarded by people who are excited about our new lord and savior sidney crosby. this is great however i cant reply to yall individually so here are the Five Things You Need To Know about sid.

      • literal hockey god. watch this and this and this. more, you say? this and this. it is entirely possible that i have too many videos of him. anyway, the point is he's been top scorer in the canadian junior league every year he played, he broke a dozen records, national tv has been doing features on him since he was 8.  
      • giggly, like so giggly. i swear a fairy is born every time he scrunches up his lil face and giggle-honks.  
      • The Hockey Establishment hates him. despite how insanely good he is, he was passed over for the junior worlds teams in 04 and 05 (hmmm.... wonder if thats why canada missed gold in both those years....). resident asshole don cherry invited an actual NHLer on his show to trash talk crosby as a 16 yr old for BEING TOO GOOD. i wish i was joking. sid responded saying that he was sorry and "I wasn't trying to embarrass anybody." angel.  
      • he was draft to the Pittsburgh Penguins and will be playing with them starting september!  
      • feels stupid to say this but: sid is an omega. pro sports are historically awful to omegas so this is such a huge deal. there was a lot of doubt that hed even be allowed to play but sid was so freaking fantastic that they didnt have a choice. just. wow.

**shanahansolo**

I've been into hockey for over twenty godforsaken years and I cannot count the number of times that some knothead has said that an omega could never play in the NHL, he'd be too weak, too slow, too distracted by the alphas around him (because they're all such catches amirite). Whatever happens next, Sidney Crosby has come so far and deserves so much support (he's gonna need it).

**forthewicked**

It gives me the tiniest bit of hope that I'll see a woman in the NHL before I fucking die

Source: greatzky   #not much hope #but damn #sid the kid #long may he reign   
**1,264 notes**

 

 

Ever humble, Crosby tells me that, despite all that build up, the stunned glee on his face when he first pulled on a Penguins jersey was genuine. "I kept expecting something to go wrong, it seemed unbelievable that I'd actually go first." Unbelievable not just to Crosby, but to half of North America. Five hours after shaking hands with club owner Mario Lemieux, Crosby was still being ping-ponged between interviews and photo sessions. Smiling and polite, he answered the same questions fifty different ways.

Watching those interviews today is fascinating. The footage, in all its hilariously low quality glory, made it into a number of documentaries and requires only a few minutes of Googling to find online. Seventeen-year-old Crosby was chatty, camera-friendly and exceptionally open with the press: during a joint interview with old friend and third draft pick Jack Johnson, he breaks down into helpless peals of high-pitched giggles; at another point, he talks quite candidly about his concerns regarding a future in hockey's alpha-dominated culture. It's a stark contrast to the consistently bland responses the press wring out of him today.

Many of you will be old enough to recall that, in the days following the draft, ESPN was genuinely showing these interviews about once every hour. And that's ESPN who famously only remember that the NHL exists once a year. Major national outlets weighed in with takes from a religious perspective, from a political perspective, from an activist's perspective. Congratulations poured in from across the board - Senator John Kerry to David Kopay to Lady Gaga - but so too did criticism. Hockey is a conservative sport, a sport dominated largely by white alphas, and it did not take kindly to the encroachment of an omega. Fans were up in arms and where there is anger, there is always someone willing to fan the flames. NFL Coach Tony Dungy, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and then-Advisor to the President Karl Rove were all among those maligning the decline of traditional societal structures.

 

 

National Review @NRO  
Mixed-orientation sports leagues is PC culture gone mad and helps no-one http://natl.io/gHYwnR

CBS News @CBS  
NHL Official: Sidney Crosby is a 'role model' who is redefining masculinity for young cross-oriented athletes. https://t.co/h7lOPCvhRS

Sports Illustrated @SInow  
Globe&Mail reporter @RicherShawna has what could be the most interesting assignment in sports journalism - wall-to-wall coverage of Penguins rookie Sidney Crosby. Updates will be near daily on her blog, and twice a week in the paper.

me and hockey @me_n_hockey  
My daughter's been a Flyers fan for sixteen years. Today, she asked for a Crosby jersey for Christmas. Representation really does matter.

 

 

**Slate**

SPORTSNUT  
Hockey has long been about alpha machismo. Is the future of the NHL in changing that?  
By Hattie James  
August 02, 2005 • 14:27

A good friend asked me to babysit her kids the other day. I said no. Not because I was busy (I wasn't) and not because I don't like my friend (I do) but because, of her three children, one is an absolute terror. I'm sure everyone reading this knows the kind of child I'm talking about - he's what my husband euphemistically refers to as 'the problem child'. Unable to attract the positive attention garnered by his charming, intelligent and sporty siblings, he resorted to being loud, rude and unrelentingly aggressive.

Hockey is that problem child.

No, wait, I've got a point here. Look, the NHL likes to consider itself one of the Big Four of North American sports leagues. They're not technically wrong to do so but they're on dangerously thin ice: the amount of media space given to the NHL's lack of popularity rivals that devoted to coverage of the sport itself. Glowing pucks, teams in the desert and national coverage have all failed to budge that popularity needle upward.

In lieu of that, the NHL has decided to attract attention in the manner of problem children all across the globe: with shocking violence. GMs fill their teams, not with skilled skaters and puck-handlers, but with enforcers. Guys who can skate a little bit, will maybe pop in a goal or two, but are there primarily to "protect" their teammates by engaging in dramatic beat-downs with other team's goons. And it is those moments of wild, masculine savagery that give the NHL the attention it craves. All major sports have speed and skill, but brawling is what really sets hockey apart from the rest of the landscape. Its unabashed violence has made it the last vestige of a bygone era, a tough, taciturn exercise in attrition. As sportswriter Paul Gallico once put it, hockey is a war fought by "alphas with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet." You can almost smell the testosterone.

In other words, hockey is the last sport one would ever expect to bow to the "PC police". Yet, bow it has. Or at least, so claim the hundreds of man-children who are currently flooding the internet with betrayed anger.

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the last week, the reason for this fury is the recent drafting of omega Sidney Crosby by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This shockingly progressive move has made the NHL the first major American sports league to draft an omega player.

So is this a cruel liberationist plot designed to deprive alphas of their last truly masculine space? Sadly, that seems unlikely. Far more plausible an explanation is that Sidney Crosby is a talented young player who the NHL saw as perfectly placed to change the media narrative around hockey. Sid the Kid, as he is called, is no fighter and he certainly won't be appearing on any 'NHL: Best Brawls Ever' compilations. His game is quick, skilled and cerebral - a former coach likened the star to a chess grandmaster in that "he’s always plotting things six or seven moves ahead." He is as far as one could possibly get from that age-old stereotype of hockey players as slow, heavily-muscled alpha goons.

The NHL's decision to make a talented omega the biggest story in hockey is a very public statement that the league is moving in a new direction. It's a statement to the world that hockey has the potential to move past prioritising pointless pugilism over skill, that the days of the enforcers are numbered. From a league in dire financial straits, it's certainly a sign of some much-needed decisive leadership, I only hope its fans can keep up.

 

 

The Nation @thenation  
NHL Player Sidney Crosby Broke Ground for Omegas - Now He's Being Dismissed as a Distraction. trib.al/HiCVMPa via @edgeofsports

Walt Dartula @dartulahasrage  
ESPN Breaking News: Sidney Crosby STILL an omega.

The Globe and Mail @globeandmail  
The pressure is already on Crosby to save an NHL franchise, says @TimWharnsby http://t.co/qEmaQEWMjk

tanya starry-eyed cook @tanya_cook  
Got my season tickets to see Sidney Crosby play with the @penguins. I CANNOT WAIT!!!

 

 

**blamehockey**

so espn just reported sidney crosby's rookie contract will be $600,000 per season. isn't that kinda low?? especially for a first overall draft pick??

**sedintosedin**

I'm not saying that the NHL isn't awful and orientationist but a) the penguins are broke af right now and b) the big new labor agreement has put a limit on what you can pay rookies so that's probably the reason.

**stilltheman**

that is in fact the _lowest first pick rookie contract for at least the last five years_.

Kovalchuk, 2001 first draft, $1,130,000 per season  
Nash, 2002 first draft, $1,185,000 per season  
Fleury, 2003 first draft, $1,240,000 for first season  
Ovechkin, 2004 first draft, $984,200 per season  
Crosby, 2005 first draft, $600,000 per season

ftr the new max entry level contract is $850,000. sid's contract is insultingly low and no prizes for guessing why.

Source: blamehockey   #and so the bullshit begins #receipts    
**2,212 notes**

 

 

USA TODAY @USATODAY  
ESPN admits mistake on Barry Melrose's Sidney Crosby comments. "There is a collective responsibillity there," ESPN president says. http://t.co/fKkuR3HUdW

Jezzer Williams @jezzer_williams73  
Sidney Crosby is congratulated because he's an omega. But Barry Melrose is criticised because he's a Christian. It's a funny world we live in.

 

 

**ESPN**

Public Editor  
**What are comment boundaries at ESPN?**  
Thomas Goslet ─ Aug 12, 2005

Sidney Crosby's drafting was an historic and controversial story, a triumph for some, an abomination for others and an "uncomfortable conversation" on 'Outside the Lines' that still resonates in ESPN conference rooms and in the ombudsman's mailbag.

In journalism, the term we use for an event like this is a 'learning experience'. It's a phrase that gets thrown around too easily, especially when no one can say what exactly has been learnt. I would suggest that this collision of religion and orientation has exposed the cracks in ESPN's coverage of larger societal questions. It is now our job to fix those cracks. In my scheduled 18 months as ESPN's second ombudsman, it will be my aim to address these issues, starting with:

• What are the boundaries of sports talk, and on which shows?  
• What is the distinction between a reporter and a commentator?  
• Some people watch sports as escapism, others are fascinated by how sport interacts with wider politics and culture. How can ESPN balance the varying sensibilities of its audience?

This discussion began back in July with a nervous, seventeen-year-old omega shaking hands with Mario Lemieux in front of half the sporting world's media. This climactic moment had been near inevitable since Crosby's presentation shook hockey circles back in 2002. What changed in July was that the NHL crossed the point of no return and opened the door to mixed orientation sports once and for all. The controversy stirred the pro hockey and liberationist communities. It would stir Christians, as well.

ESPN seemed somewhat slower than the Internet to get excited by the announcement. A generous case might be made that the "news" was hardly new - Crosby had been listed as a top-three draft pick for years and more than enough ink had already been devoted to his orientation. A more snide case would say that ESPN's notorious lack of interest in hockey had blinkered them to the growing story. In any case, initial coverage was mainly "fluff". Draft interviews were broadcast regularly and some practical implications were perfunctorily covered on early "SportsCenter" editions.

OTL was the first ESPN show to cover the story in any depth. Realising that this was attracting more attention than they had anticipated, the show ditched a planned dissection of the Blackhawks' special teams to focus on the Crosby issue. Manon Rhéaume, the omega who started several pre-season games for Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992 and 1993, joined the discussion by phone to celebrate the progress that had made Crosby's drafting possible. Colleen Dominguez, a cross-oriented alpha and regular commentator on OTL, gave her own insights. She highlighted the importance of Troy Crosby's clear pride in his son and the strong bond between the two, especially relevant following the national discussion around increased rates of abuse towards cross-oriented children. Dominguez was also keen to imagine all the young omegas who we might start to see follow Crosby's example.

Barry Melrose had been scheduled for the cancelled Blackhawks show so was on hand to lend some hockey expertise to the discussion. He began thoughtfully, declaring the climate right for acceptance and acknowledging Crosby's exceptional talent. But he strayed from the standard supportive commentary when he wondered how many players would be hiding their "true feelings" on the matter in order to avoid being labelled bigots. OTL host Rob Anderson responded, referencing his own experiences of playing with men whose opinions differed from his own. Melrose broke in to mention religion as a primary source of this kind of tension in locker rooms at which point Anderson, likely due to inexperience, asked Melrose for his perspective, as a Christian, on the issue at hand.

Melrose was clearly surprised to be asked so directly but readily elaborated, "If you, as an omega, are living as an alpha - playing, training, socialising as an alpha in a team of alphas - then I believe that you are defying God's wishes. The orientations are equal, yes, but they are different and I believe that ought to be respected." Perhaps realising that he had directed the question away from the issue at hand, he added, "That is not to say that a cohesive locker room is impossible. If the alphas are willing to play beside Crosby, then he should be willing to play beside alphas who believe that what he is doing is wrong." Directions from a slightly panicked control room moved the show on quickly but Pandora's Box was already open.

In spite of the ground-swell of support he received, Melrose did later apologise for airing his views at what was "the wrong moment" but he also doubled down on what he said. In his weekly column, he wrote, "The media in general, not just ESPN, is lopsided in its coverage. It's a cheerleader for cross-orientation and non-traditional values and puts those who disagree in an unfavourable light. You can see it in the eye rolling and body language of so-called objective journalists. Christians are made out to be bigots and intolerant even though there are Neanderthals present on both sides."

I will not wade in on whether Melrose's views are fair or correct, but there is no doubting that they struck a chord for our audience. The question must be asked: what is Christianity's place within ESPN?

PAGE 1 OF 3. CLICK HERE TO PROCEED.

 

 

Craig Morgan @craigsmorgan  
Gary Bettman on being asked about the league's plans for the first omega player: "There will be absolutely no special treatment for Sidney Crosby. We are dedicated to good and fair officiating for all players."

MrRationalHockey @rational_hockey  
Replying to @craigsmorgan  
I can't believe he said that with a straight face.

capitalised caps @capitalised_capitals  
Replying to @craigsmorgan  
"good and fair" he said. "good and fair." im dying

  

 

It has been since suggested that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, never one known for keeping his finger on the pulse, may have slightly under-estimated the magnitude and fervor of his fanbase's reaction. For a few weeks, he was forced to take a leaf out of the interview-book of every omega in sports and answer endless inane questions on "the Crosby issue" - his temper soon began to visibly fray. But whatever his private doubts, it was too late to backtrack now.

On the other side of the coin, for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the additional publicity paid off almost immediately. Phones were ringing constantly and for every fan who claimed to be burning their Penguins memorabilia, there were another two clamoring for tickets. Within days they completely sold out of season seats and pre-sales for Crosby jerseys exploded through the roof. "At that point, I'd never even been to Pittsburgh," said Crosby when asked about that early support, "Everyone said it was terrible for hockey so it was a real surprise, and pretty nice, that there was so much enthusiasm there already."

To cement Crosby's status as a future hero of Pittsburgh hockey, he was invited to live with what amounts to their royal family, the Lemieuxs. It's fairly standard practice to house promising rookies with a team veteran for a few years - even the notoriously lax NHL recognises that sending seventeen-year-old millionaires to live on their own is a recipe for disaster. In this case though, the arrangement was about more than oversight, it was also invaluable emotional support for the homebody omega who would be so many miles from his doting family.

 

 

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From: Dad [12:36]  
To: Sid  
Your mother said she spoke to you about this but I want you to have it from me too. We know it's going to be rough but anything really bad happens, you call us. Doesn't matter who or what, we're always on your side. Very proud of you, kid.

From: Sid [12:51]  
To: Dad  
Thnx dad :) u rly dont need to worry so much tho

From: Sid [12:53]  
To: Dad  
btw mario says hi!!!

From: Dad [12:57]  
To: Sid  
That doesn't impress me. We're still Habs fans round here

From: Sid [13:00]  
To: Dad  
:( 

 

 

"Nathalie and Mario and the whole family were very welcoming," Crosby tells me. "Very patient too, I was definitely treated like one of the kids, spent a lot of time playing video games or wrestling with them in the garden." The arrangement worked a treat for both parties. Crosby was thrilled to be able to live in the familiarity of a busy family home and the Lemieuxs are on record as having made good use of having a live-in babysitter for their four rambunctious children. 

In the end, Crosby would stay with the Lemieuxs for five years, so long that it became a running joke among fans. As I'm sure you can imagine, some of those jokes were less affectionate, more lecherous especially as Crosby grew out of adolescence and into adulthood. Still, it was an early and important public show of faith by the Penguins ownership: like it or not, Crosby was now a part of the team.

 

 

**NEW YORK POST**  
Sports

It's A Brave New World For The NHL  
By Ed Mattock  
August 17, 2005 | 1:36pm

There's a box in my basement that contains old VHS tapes of sports bloopers. This was how we used to watch such things, kids, before PVRs and YouTube. It was a simpler time.

One of the tapes is labelled Hockey's Hardest Hitters, and although it's barely 20 years old it feels like an utter relic. In the clips in which various players are rendered unconscious by shots to the head, crowds cheer wildly and announcers react with glee. In some instances, a blindside blow to the head leads to an instant fight, a tidy encapsulation of several actions that were once routine during an NHL game and are now subject to severe sanction.

As much as hockey has changed its attitude to such things in recent years, this violent, physical play is still one of hockey's biggest draws. YouTube videos with names like 'NHL: Best Brawls Ever' and 'Top 10 NHL Knockouts' rack up millions of views. Any commercial for live hockey is bound to include a shot of someone crashing into the boards. Like it or not, hockey has built itself a reputation as the ultimate bastion of mainstream masculinity. It's the sport where, after a bad hit or a painful defeat, alphas can fight it out like alphas. The sport where men can get away from the fussy niceties of modern life and just be themselves. 

Now, all that has changed. Barring an act of god, this September Sidney Crosby will play with the Pittsburgh Penguins and become the first omega in the NHL.

There's no denying that Crosby is talented. While I personally suspect that claims of generational talent are exaggerated - Sid the Kid is no Lemieux - he will no doubt be a worthy addition to the team. The question is: at what cost? 

It is impossible to imagine that Crosby's orientation will not afford him some advantage. How will a referee react when he sees the slight seventeen-year-old omega smashed into the boards by a player twice his size? Will players not be more reluctant to check Crosby in the first place? How will the NHL respond when he is inevitably the victim of a major injury? Do they have plans for the locker room situation - surely it would be unfair, both to Crosby and his teammates, to expect showers and changing spaces to be shared? And what about scent-doping? Neutralisers can wear off during intense physical activity, will there be some form of regular testing to ensure that Crosby remains blank? These are just a few of the questions that players, commentators and fans have been raising for months.

Change is always difficult and should be carried out with care. When that change looks to threaten much of the intrinsic appeal of hockey it is little wonder that the fan reaction has been largely negative. The hashtag #ThisIsHockey, filled with stories and anecdotes from those who love hockey as it is and fear for its future, has been trending on Twitter. The fact is that the introduction of omegas to the NHL means that the league and its culture will never be the same again. This is not, as some outlets have been claiming, a matter of orientationism, it is a matter of practicalities. I haven't seen anyone suggest that Crosby be banned from hockey, simply that he be directed towards another league.

There is no telling how this will play out in the history books - as a publicity stunt gone wrong? A much-awaited sign of progress? Or as simply a blip in the long and storied history of the NHL? Whatever the case, Crosby's first season is sure to be a historic one. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Since the lockout obviously really happened, many of the Tweets commenting on it at the beginning of this chapter are inspired by real articles from those publications. They're fairly easy to find if you google. The [Slate article](https://slate.com/culture/2007/10/why-hockey-needs-a-relegation-system.html) is a particularly interesting suggestion for how to improve the NHL's franchise system.
> 
> 2\. 'Hockey has long been about alpha machismo. Is the future of the NHL in changing that?' stole it's title from a really great [Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/12/hockey-nhl-racism-diversity) about white machismo in the NHL. The actual content of that article is completely different to my version and is a really good read.
> 
> 3\. Welp, this could hardly be a cultural controversy unless there was a religious aspect. In an attempt to keep it realistic, that element is very much modelled off what happened when Jason Collins came out. The ESPN article is _heavily_ based on a thoughtful piece on ethics in sports journalism from that time. That article can be found [here](http://www.espn.com/blog/ombudsman/post/_/id/7/what-are-commentary-boundaries-at-espn). I don't know much about Melrose at all but he's said some distasteful stuff in his time and I needed a bigoted NHL ESPN reporter from 2005 so...
> 
> 4\. The introduction to the 'A Brave New World' article is taken wholesale from Scott Stinson's excellent article on bodychecking in the NHL. I'm not entirely comfortable with copy-pasting like that so it won't happen again but I'm weak and really like it in this chapter. The original article is available [here](https://nationalpost.com/sports/hockey/nhl/nhls-reasons-to-refuse-to-ban-bodychecking-go-beyond-notion-that-hits-are-part-of-the-game) and is good stuff.
> 
> Comments and feedback is much appreciated!


	3. '05-06 Rookie Season

 

 

VANITY FAIR @VanityFair  
Puck bunny? Think again. This omega is hockey's next big thing. http://vntyfr.com/xFzj3Zu

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette @PittsbughPG  
Five story lines for the season (and they're not all about Sidney Crosby). https://t.co/TeDAEcbCKp

CNN @CNN  
Author Hugh Hewitt on why Sidney Crosby is no hero https://cnn.it/2ZKLYDq

GQ Magazine @GQMagazine  
Presenting QG's October cover star: Sidney Crosby breaking ground, records and hearts https://t.co/liL03eoE95

The Athletic NHL @TheAthleticNHL  
Breaking down the Penguins' high-stakes roster https://t.co/0wwNHOIrKZ

Sporting News @sportingnews  
On The Cover: Welcome back, boys! The return of the NHL and the birth of Sid the Kid.

 

 

To the surprise of no one, Crosby's rookie season was an eventful one. Not that you'd know that by asking him about it. "It's hard for any young player," he tells me, all over-intense earnestness and awkward charm. "Coming in, you do all the right things, you prepare, but you're not sure how it's going to go. You don't know what the league's like."

I have no doubt that's true. Hockey, more than any other major sport, is a game of luck. It's the reason NHLers are considered such a superstitious bunch: one dodgy bounce of the puck, one slippery patch of ice, one moment of inattention and you've lost the game. Similarly, hockey is a team sport. Being the best player in the world won't be enough to win without a solid team behind you. In other words, no matter how skilled or strong a new rookie, there's little guarantee that his first games won't be disastrous.

Skating onto the ice at the antiquated Mellon Arena, Crosby had all that to worry about and so much more. The '05-06 Penguins team was what could generously be called 'rebuilding'. In reality, it had been 'rebuilding' for several years with precious little to show for its efforts.

The roster was the result of a bizarre pick 'n' mix approach to team-building: multiple veterans whose best days were behind them (John LeClair, Mark Recchi), two of whom would retire mid-season (Mario Lemieux, Ziggy Pálffy); several former first-round picks who hadn't quite grasped NHL hockey (Marc-André Fleury, Brooks Orpik); and, to cap it all off, a TV analyst-turned-coach expected to sort the whole mess out (Ed Olczyk). Such was the team that Crosby was charged with carrying on his youthful shoulders while the world's media leered over every quote and creepshot.

 

 

NYT Sports @NYTSports  
All eyes on Sidney Crosby as Penguins open historic season http://pens.pe/2Y6iayu

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
Sidney Crosby's rookie debut on Thursday is expected to attract more media than the 2004 Stanley Cup final https://t.co/QQoOTQB3D8

Pens Inside Scoop @PensInsideScoop  
Sidney Crosby on his upcoming debut: “That’s the game I have dreamed about since I first started playing.”

 

 

From: Sid [10:36]  
To: Taylor  
What would you think about 50% off pens tickets for omegas u18?

From: Taylor [10:44]  
To: Sid  
are you kidding!?!?!

From: Taylor [10:44]  
To: Sid  
all the girls on my team would flat out die

From: Taylor [10:45]  
To: Sid  
they think youre cool. ugh. disgusting

From: Sid [10:46]  
To: Taylor  
No promises. Brisson says should be possible but eh

From: Taylor [10:48]  
To: Sid  
:O no take backsies

 

 

NHL @NHL  
That's a big moment for omegas everywhere - #SidneyCrosby has his first point in the NHL

Watch on NBC: https://t.co/03Bu8ohRTU  
Watch on Sportsnet: https://t.co/Ru1tdgCszT

CBS Sports @CBSSports  
Crosby disappoints, Devils rookie Parise shines in debuts https://t.co/QQoOTQB3D8

Kay Whitefield @kaykayhockey  
@NHL is finding out what happens when you label a kid your progressive super-star poster boy before he's ever even played a game. Sidney Crosby was great in juniors but he is not NHL standard.

Alex 'Lex' Wilson @heyitsironman  
props to colin white for fucking burying cindy today. wondering about rule 34 now...

Ameena Means Business @ameenabhan  
I was lucky enough to see Sidney Crosby score his first NHL point. The crowd went totally nuts. Such an awesome atmosphere!! #LetsGoPens

 

The Onion @TheOnion  
Sidney Crosby Fails to Resurrect the Dead in Rookie Debut: "15 minutes of ice time and not one verifiable miracle? This kid has got to engage" said one TSN analyst. https://nyti.ms/2GX8Zxw

 

 

r/hockey  
Can we please talk about the Sidney Crosby GQ thread?  
u/gonegolfing  
Look, I kept quiet for the Vanity Fair one but enough is enough. I get it, he's an attractive person and I understand why there would be comments about that. But why is it that so many of the comments in that thread are focusing on that instead of the fact that there was a hockey player on the front of GQ. He is recognizable enough to be featured on a major non-sports magazine. This is huge for our sport especially right now when I don't reckon a guy off the street could name a single nhler. But all people can think to comment about is how much they want to bang him?.

Not to mention the fact that he's shirtless not naked and is barely 18. Even as an alpha I was cringing reading through that thread thinking about the omega members we have here.

**EDIT: I understand when someone poses shirtless that there will be some objectification. All I'm trying to say is that for a sub that talks about HOCKEY we took it a bit too far.**  
Share   381 Comments   ・・・   ↑ 0 ↓ 

u/xtcreker  
Get off your high horse. 18 is an adult and well above the age of consent. The moral panic on this site where 'every sexual thought = crime' is becoming absurd.  
・・・   ↑ 87 ↓

u/bey_catch  
That might even be a half decent explanation if people hadn't been saying the same thing since he was 14 years old and a literal teenager  
・・・   ↑ 16 ↓

u/thrashersrule99  
Yeah, because the entire subreddit didn't spend the last 4 months talking about how much they'd like to bang Jose Theodore.  
・・・   ↑ 45 ↓

u/LiberitasMaxima  
Oh, but I was so enjoying seeing the same "I would disappoint him for 45 seconds" and "hur dur dick sucking lips" comments repeated ad nauseam.  
・・・   ↑ 63 ↓

u/ bex21  
You're giving too much credit for creativity. Top rated comment was essentially "hot. ass. i'd fuck."  
・・・   ↑ 34 ↓

u/bey_catch  
Thanks for this. I'm gonna summarise a few things I said elsewhere.  
One thing that bothers me a lot about the other thread is how many important things are being overlooked. Sid talks about being a child phenom, about opportunities and lack thereof for omegas, about growing the game, stuff he has a unique perspective on. These are topics that are addressed infrequently and dismissively if at all and they're important shit for hockey.  
He also talks about living with Lemieux, about rebuilding the pens and loads of cool anecdotes about the inside of an nhl locker room. Usually this sub would be all over that kind of stuff but a lot of people can't see past the fact that he's gorgeous.  
I have more to add but that's most of my main points. I was really disappointed by that thread but hope that we can have a more productive discussion here.  
・・・   ↑ 25 ↓

u/belladibear  
Can you imagine being a little boy or girl and being able to idolise an OMEGA athlete instead of an alpha? I had dreams of being in the NHL and wanted to be just like Brian Leetch. I was devastated when I realised that was impossible. Can you imagine how different it would have been if there was someone like Sidney Crosby around?  
・・・   ↑ 17 ↓

More Comments (5)

u/roll_the_knoll  
I'm usually the first person to defend mixed-orientation hockey here and, yes, cover page of GQ is fantastic marketing for the league, but the simple fact is that it's an attractive omega in a state of undress on a subreddit that is dominated by alphas. While previous risque posts in this sub (eg the body issue of espn) didn't have the same reaction (again, subreddit that is significantly male), they were met with a nearly identical response: objectification of the athletes in question, not discussion about their athletic merits. To expect a difference response is just unrealistic and ignores the fact that this is what happens every time regardless of the athlete's gender.  
・・・   ↑ 29 ↓

u/gunsginknives  
Classic white knighting. "Look, women of r/hockey, I care!! I'm on your side!! Pls give me fuc." Creating a whole new thread to show what a great guy you are is just pathetic.  
・・・   ↑ 13 ↓

More Comments (67)

 

 

Sportsnet Stats @SNstats  
Seven games in, #LetsGoPens are the NHL's only scoreless team. The Penguins have never previously gone more than the six first games of a season without winning.

Freddy Bradders @PITBrads  
Replying to @SNstats  
Maybe if Sid the Bitch could refrain from drawing SIX FUCKING PENALTIES per game we'd have a semi decent chance.

Jen Jen Jenny @jennyrogers  
Replying to @SNstats  
i should be used to this but somehow?? it manages to hurt worse every time. cmon boys #LetsGoPens

 

CBC @CBC  
Omega hockey phenom Sidney Crosby won hearts in his star turn on the Tonight Show https://www.cbc.ca/1.5132096

 

 

**THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO** \- SPECIAL GUEST SIDNEY CROSBY  
Thursday 28th October 2005  


LENO: With me here tonight is a real trail-blazer: this year's NHL first draft and the only omega ever to play in a major American sports league. Please give a very warm welcome to the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby.

_[applause and band plays while CROSBY enters]_

LENO: Well, congratulations on first pick. It's no exaggeration to say that you've made history. How are you feeling about that?

CROSBY: I'm okay now, I think. I'm just... just excited to be playing. And with such amazing players.

LENO: You're not the only one who's excited. You being in the NHL seems to mean a lot to a lot of people.

CROSBY: For sure, I get so many kids who are really excited to come up and say hi and that they want to play in the NHL too when they're older.

_[murmurs]_

LENO: And what do you say to that? To the boys who are out there practicing right now. Who want to be pro hockey players and happen to be omega?

CROSBY: It doesn't matter about being an omega. It's about hockey. It's about working hard and doing it for your team. That's what you should focus on.

LENO: It's interesting that you mention loyalty to your team. It seems like your teammates haven't always been the most loyal to you.

CROSBY: I think... My teammates at the moment are... they're great. Especially because all the attention isn't something any team wants. It can be, well, a distraction but they're all very good about it.

LENO: It must be difficult though, to spend so much time surrounded by alphas?

CROSBY: I've pretty much always played with alphas so, I don't think, it's not something I notice much. We're a team, you know? We all want the same thing...

LENO: Sure, but there must be times when all that guy talk gets a bit much?

_[audience laughs]_

CROSBY: Well, maybe, in the future, we might see more omegas on the ice or in the organisation. I think that would be nice. But... we are a team. We're all going out there to work hard and to play hockey and that's... that's pretty special.

LENO: From what I've seen, it's possible you work a bit too hard. How many penalties have you taken so far?

CROSBY: _[laughs]_ I don't know. It's a physical game and I want to play with an edge and battle out there. I guess I like winning.

_[audience laughs]_

LENO: And that does go against the omega stereotype.

CROSBY: Yeah, that omega stereotype, that... I think it would be nice to change that stereotype. It's not true for all omegas and it isn't very helpful when you're playing hockey.

LENO: When you're the first omega to play with this visibility, you do have the power to change perceptions like that. And you are the first. Can you believe it hasn't happened before you?

CROSBY: No, it's weird. For years, I kept thinking that someone else would get drafted, maybe from Europe or from college but it just didn't happen.

LENO: Not until now.

CROSBY: _[laughs]_ Yeah.

LENO: I can think of one reason why hockey in particular would be less attractive a prospect for omegas. I'm sure it's something a few of the guys in the audience have noticed as well. Most of the hockey players I've met are huge, ugly and missing half their teeth. You're not worried about the cosmetic cost of hockey?

CROSBY: _[laughs]_ I don't know about that. It's not something I've really thought about.

LENO: No? Not even with a face as nice as yours?

CROSBY: That's, er, thank you. There are a lot of, you know, good-looking guys in the league who manage fine though. I mean, the fans seem to think so.

_[audience laughs]_

LENO: _[laughs]_ That's certainly true. Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. As modest as he is talented. You're a real Canadian hero. Thanks, Sidney. Sidney Crosby!

_[applause]_

 

 

From: Taylor [22:42]  
To: Sid  
youre on tv!!!!!!!!!!!!

From: Taylor [22:46]  
To: Sid  
you look dumb tho

From: Taylor [22:55]  
To: Sid  
mom's so proud. i think she might be crying? wuss

From: Taylor [23:01]  
To: Sid  
okay that was actually pretty great

From: Taylor [23:02]  
To: Sid  
mom says i gotta go to bed >:( wanna hear all about it tomorrow!!

 

 

**flowering29**

any interviewer ever: sidney, i heard youre an omega. as an omega, how does it feel doing omega things?

sid: i really like hockey

**thrashmeilya**

okay so this is funny BUT let's not overlook the fact that Sidney has actually been pretty outspoken by hockey player standards. yes, those are very low standards but he has: said he would like to see more omegas in the league, criticised the stereotype of omegas being weak, spoken about how he is proud of his body, and rejected suggestions that he's not like other omegas.

I'm really proud of our boy and honestly think that as he grows up a bit, gets more confidence, earns respect in the nhl we might see him being increasingly outspoken about this stuff

Source: flowering29   #this is hockey #you gotta set your standards low and take the little victories   
**512 notes**

 

 

I say 'leer' because there is no word more suited to the salivating paternalism that set the tone for so much of Crosby's public relations. If a question was unprofessional and sexually suggestive - but just the right side of G-rated - then, I guarantee you, some unscrupulous hack felt it his journalistic duty to ask it.

As the season progressed, cracks began to show in even Crosby's extensive media training. It wasn't a matter of his growing frustration. Quite the opposite, he seemed to have an infinite supply of patience for even the most condescending of questions. No, where Crosby seemed to fall down was his wholehearted desire to please. What another player might answer with monosyllables or not at all, he would give a lengthy and thoughtful response. Several scandals and one humiliating public apology later, he learnt better.

It's funny really. Today, Crosby is considered one of the most uninteresting interviewees in the NHL - an impressive achievement in a sport known for players with microphone allergies. "Oppressively boring," wrote Barry Petchesky in a piece for Deadspin. Only last week, Fox News' Clive Jackson complained that "he's a walking cliché... he eats, sleeps and breathes hockey". And that's on the kinder end of the spectrum. "I guarantee you," said NHL on NBC analyst Mike Milbury, "not a single original thought has passed through that pretty head." They're wrong, of course. If Crosby is now overly cautious with the media, it's because he once wasn't cautious enough.

 

 

Bleacher Report NHL Retweeted  
Bleacher Report @Bleacher Report  
Sidney Crosby is tired of being surrounded by alphas, wants "more omegas" in the NHL https://t.co/vVnLigjRIZ

Puck Daddy @PuckDaddyNHL  
Pittsburgh Penguins Face Backlash Over Sidney Crosby's 'Alpha-Hating' https://yhoo.it/2Vk6x1O

Vox @voxdotcom  
No, Sidney Crosby doesn't hate alphas. Here's what he really said. https://bit.ly/2VRkcYB

Pens Inside Scoop @PensInsideScoop  
Sidney Crosby releases statement: "I want to apologise to Penguins fans whose support I am very grateful for. I did not mean to overstep or to criticise the league. I regret having made those comments."

Pensburgh @Pensburgh  
Paved With Good Intentions: Sidney Crosby should stick with what he's good at. That's hockey, not politics https://t.co/OfYL3jYAhA

 

 

**flowering29**

any interviewer ever: sidney, i heard youre an omega. as an omega, how does it feel doing omega things?

sid: i really like hockey

**thrashmeilya**

okay so this is funny BUT let's not overlook the fact that Sidney has actually been pretty outspoken by hockey player standards. yes, those are very low standards but he has: said he would like to see more omegas in the league, criticised the stereotype of omegas being weak, spoken about how he is proud of his body, and rejected suggestions that he's not like other omegas.

I'm really proud of our boy and honestly think that as he grows up a bit, gets more confidence, earns respect in the nhl we might see him being increasingly outspoken about this stuff

**thrashmeilya**

it is possible that I spoke too soon

Source: flowering29   #why do i do this to myself #theres optimism and then theres being wilfully fucking dumb   
**589 notes**

 

 

Cyrus Malone @cmalone  
@10PSharp anything to say to this?  
[embedded video: Sidney_Crosby_first_intermission_interview_clip] 

POTASH: You said the other day that there are a lot of good-looking alphas in the league. Just for fun, who do you think is the best-looking guy?

CROSBY: _[laughs]_ Er... I really don't know.

POTASH: Go on, there must be someone. You see them tearing up the ice, and your knees get a little weak?

CROSBY: Maybe... I don't know... My sister is a big fan of Patrick Sharp.

POTASH: Your sister, huh? She has good taste. Alright, Sidney, thanks for your time.

CROSBY: Okay, thanks.

Patrick Sharp @10PSharp  
Replying to @cmalone  
Very flattered. Sid is an exciting player and I look forward to seeing what he does in the NHL.

 

 

**The New York Times**

Opinion  
**No, I won't answer that: what Sidney Crosby should have said**  
**Linda South**

Dec. 1, 2005

It goes without saying that the 2005 NHL season is a big deal for those interested in the place of omegas in sport.

First and most obvious, was Sidney Crosby's historic debut against the New Jersey Devils. For the first time, an omega skated onto NHL ice, not in the flimsy bikini of an ice girl, but in the padding of a hockey player.

Then, Crosby showed signs of breaking one of hockey's great taboos: public discussions of politics. In late November, he was allowed to comment critically on the treatment of omegas within the wider hockey world. In typical Canadian fashion, he mentioned that he would - maybe, if it were quite alright with everyone - quite like to see more omegas behind the scenes of the Penguins organisation.

But such progressiveness is only a part of the story. The NHL and Pittsburgh Penguins have shown little restraint in milking their shiny, new cash cow. Crosby seems to spend more time being hauled into and out of interviews, photoshoots and press conferences than he does actually playing hockey.

Initially, Crosby was treated fairly well by reporters but, alas, this is the NHL: all good things have a strict time limit. As mainstream media moved on to obsessing over the state of Jude Law's marriage, it forgot its short-lived interest in hockey. At the same time, so too did reporters forget their professional standards. Crude comments, patronising questions and poorly-hidden fetishes began to sneak into Crosby coverage.

This Wednesday, the situation reached a new level of unbelievable. Penguins commentator Dan Potash, interviewing Crosby, asked him who he thought was the most attractive alpha in the NHL. When Crosby ummed and erred, Potash pressed him for an answer and eventually Crosby complied, naming Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Potash's request was entirely inappropriate and unacceptable from a professional sports journalist. It denied Crosby the respect he deserves as an athlete, instead treating him like a puckbunny. More than that, it was the kind of question which set Crosby up for mockery. His 'crush' will inevitably become a running joke in the commentary during the next Blackhawks game. I have no doubt that it will also make an appearance on some of the less savoury fan signs.

The incident encapsulated so many of the ways omega athletes are treated differently to their alpha counterparts.

That preoccupation with sexuality - both who you like and why - is unique to omegas. Yes, there are segments on 'Puck Personality' where alpha NHLers are asked for their celebrity crush but that's a jocular, impersonal question. It's very different to asking Crosby which one of his peers he would most like to sleep with.

The other sad truth is that culturally, a sexually active alpha is virile, powerful and successful. A sexually active omega on the other hand, especially a male omega, is scorned, weakened and essentially feminised. Coming from an alpha, Potash's question becomes an assertion of authority. It's a reminder that, no matter how much Crosby dominates on the ice, he will still submit in the bedroom. Crude, I know, but true.

By answering the question and playing along, Crosby does share some responsibility in this.

Yes, he is young and keen to ingratiate himself with a new fanbase. But that is a poor excuse. This is a kid who was profiled in _Sports Illustrated_ at 14, who hired an agent at 15, who was 16 when _Hockey News_ named him one of its 100 people of power and influence. He is no stranger to media relations.

More than that, Crosby is the only omega professional athlete in North America. It's a position that has brought him that golden pairing of money and prestige. But, as all good superheroes will tell you, with great power comes great responsibility. He is responsible for his image, for how it reflects on cross-oriented men across the world, and for how it is tarnished.

What a powerful statement about the seriousness of omega's sport it would be for athletes like Crosby to say "no" when they are asked ridiculous and belittling questions: no, I will not discuss my love life. No, I will not give you a twirl. No, I will not talk about my body hair.

We can and should expect more from our media. And from our athletes.

_Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter._

 

 

**To:** me (sidney.crosby@hotmail.com)  
**From:** Pat Brisson (pat@caagency.com)  
**Subject: Re: Dec 2nd Press Statement**

Sid,

I've just finished a call with Burkle and Morehouse. Gist of it all is that they're not happy but we're in the clear for now. Apology has been well-received and your performance in New York has gone some way to softening tempers.

Going forward they'll be wanting you to stick to "hockey player, not an omega". Be polite and deferential but as far as possible, do not acknowledge any differences between your own situation and that of your teammates.

That'll extend to all public relations related activities. I suppose I need hardly tell you that your proposed ticket subsidising scheme has been put on hold. I suggest that we give it a month, then we present an altered plan with a focus on low-income rather than omega children. 

I cannot emphasis enough how important it is that you toe the line on all this. The organisation is not in a position to be dealing with that kind of national controversy. If it were to happen again, I wouldn't be surprised to hear trade rumors. You've been doing this long enough that you should have damn well known better than to talk like that anywhere, let alone live on national TV.

We'll talk more details tomorrow.

Regards,  
Pat

Pat Brisson

Co-Head Creative Artists Agency  
+177125 266392

 

 

From: Sid [08:04]  
To: Taylor  
I don't think the tickets thing is going to work out

From: Sid [08:10]  
To: Taylor  
Sorry

From: Taylor [09:16]  
To: Sid  
:(

From: Taylor [09:18]  
To: Sid  
i'm just glad you tried <3 

 

 

**herecomethepens**

I'm thinking of starting a collection of the inappropriately sexual ways that nhl players and commentators talk about sid.

Exhibit A: "Slap me silly, Sidney." Idiosyncratic announcing or latent sexual fantasies?

> Mike Lange, the play-by-play man for broadcasts of Pittsburgh Penguins games, has this or something similarly catchy to say every time Sidney Crosby scores a goal. "My father used to say, 'Slap me silly,"' says Lange. "It popped out of my brain" while dreaming up something fresh to throw at viewers.
> 
> Canadians are hearing more and more of Lange's creative phrases during this NHL season because Crosby is invariably in most highlight packages. (Canada Post)

Exhibit B: "sex symbol....hottest thing on ice.... heartthrob good looks" are all ways to describe a boy band not a pro athlete ffs

> With its bone-crunching violence, bulky armor and head-to-toe uniforms, ice hockey is an unlikely setting for a sex symbol.
> 
> Sidney Crosby is breaking all the rules. The 18-year-old is the hottest thing on the ice since Wayne Gretzky, generating a Shakira-like reception at appearances in his native Canada. Now, the buzz is spreading to the United States....
> 
> With heartthrob good looks and an ability to withstand punishing body checks, not to mention his swift, goal-scoring plays, Crosby is exciting fans, players and sponsors across the country. (Reuters)

Exhibit C: "He was … small. I wanted to dominate and overpower him." I'll take 'things you don't say about alphas' for 200, Alex.

> The first thing that struck me about Sidney Crosby was his size.
> 
> I'd expected it to be his scent but whatever neutralisers he uses are powerful stuff. Fully kitted up, there's not much to suggest that he isn't like any other player, except for his size. He was .... small.
> 
> I wanted to dominate and overpower him. When we matched up, I wanted him to feel every ounce of my strength. I've spoken to other players and I'm told it's a common response to seeing him out there. At the time, he was tearing up the league and I thought, 'All right, kid, you haven’t played me yet.' (The Players' Tribune)

Source: herecomethepens   #sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins #orientationism #should i continue this?? #there are so many examples   
**742 notes**

 

 

Sports Illustrated @SInow  
A New Breed of Athlete: Sidney Crosby's rookie season is redefining the NHL https://t.co/poY63qiM29

 

 

Amidst all that, Crosby did the impossible. He lived up to the hype.

That first year, he broke records like some players break teeth - franchise record on assists, franchise records on points, youngest player to score 100 points in a season, the list goes on. It was a simply breathtaking rookie season. Even ten years later, with two cup runs under his belt, that '05-'06 period regularly makes his career 'Top Five' lists.

Crosby is predictably modest about his achievement. "To be able to play at NHL level and to see it go well, I think it built confidence," he tells me, "but I still had a lot to learn." To be fair, it's not hard to see why Crosby might not be entirely enamored with his rookie season. Even all his prodigious skill wasn't enough to bring the shambolic Penguins any real success. They finished one place ahead of the previous year: 29th in a league of 30. Without Crosby, they likely would have finished dead last but you try telling that to thousands of increasingly frustrated fans.

Worse still, he had begun to cultivate a reputation that would dog him for years. One of Crosby's many records was to became the only rookie in NHL history to get a matching set of 100 points and 100 penalty minutes - a title he still holds today.

Today, he is open about his rookie transgressions: "I'll be the first to say that I was hard on the refs. I wanted to win and got a bit single-minded about that." Slashing, hooking, embellishment, unsportsmanlike conduct: Crosby drew them all and regularly.

One could spend hours trying to find explanations for such regular sin bin appearances - indeed, the media devoted thousands of words to the subject: he was unfairly targeted by alpha players who felt threatened by his skill; he couldn't handle the physicality; referees were over-eager to dispel rumors of special treatment; he had been spoiled by so much media attention; he had no respect for the game. At the end of the day though, the "whys" of the situation were less important than the result.

 

 

The Globe and Mail @globeandmail  
With 3 point performance in 3-2 victory over Flyers, Sidney Crosby finds way to Pittsburgh's heart http://dlvr.it/R4JmFp

NHL @NHL  
Efficiency level: @penguins Sidney Crosby with two shots and two goals

ESPN @espn  
Our latest ESPN the Magazine cover finds Sidney Crosby turning the game on its head.

 

 

**Calgary Sun**  
**NHL Recap: Calgary Flames at Pittsburgh Penguins**

Edward Francis  
Published: December 4, 2005  
Filed Under: Calgary SUN > Sports > Other Sports > Hockey > NHL

PITTSBURGH - Kristian Huselius couldn't have asked for a better debut. One game in, and he's helping the Flames score goals that may or may not have gone into the net.

Daymon Langkow scored twice in less than two minutes early in the third period and the Flames, helped by an apparent phantom goal by Marcus Nilson, won in Pittsburgh for the first time in nearly 17 years by beating the struggling Penguins 3-2 on Saturday night.

"It's fun to be here, it's only one game but it's a good start. I want to keep it up and get better every day," said Huselius, a left-wing acquired Friday from Florida in a three-player deal. He set up all three Flames goals of the game, matching his season total for assists in one night and propelling Calgary past Vancouver into first place in the NorthWest division.

His success though was over-shadowed by a growing controversy surrounding the opposition. To lay the situation out: An 18-year-old hotshot violently crashes the net, seriously jeopardizing the health of Flames netminder Miikka Kiprusoff and not one teammate decides to do anything about it.

Not a terse word, not a discouraging shove, not a warranted beating. Why would this be allowed to happen?

Is it because the offender was NHL golden boy Sidney Crosby?

Crosby has already won himself the fan moniker 'Bitchy Sid' for his aggressive in-game conduct and while I am not interested in diving into the socio-political commentary that surrounds all Crosby's games, I will say this: if a player is tough enough to go for the goalie, he should be tough enough to deal with the consequences.

Pittsburgh, despite owning one of the NHL's most proven collections of scorers [CLICK TO EXPAND]

 

 

Pittsburgh Penguins Retweeted  
NHL @NHL  
The NHL Rookie of the Month of November is.... @penguins Sidney Crosby.  
Details: http://t.co/VyEHZwiXNH

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
Highly anticipated match-up between uber-rookies Crosby and Ovechkin ends with highlight reel backhand goal for Sid https://t.co/MczhBkIbe4

 

 

**flowering29**

I strongly relate to Sidney Crosby because I too am very smol, very angry and constantly trying to fight alphas three times my size.

Source: flowering29   #sidney crosby #87 #that picture of him next to ovie #they are so mismatched its adorable #and also weirdly hot??   
**335 notes**

 

 

Sportsnet  
**NHL**   |   Playoffs   Scoreboard   Standings   Stats   Players

**Three Months Later: a baptism by fire for Sidney Crosby**

Jim Kelley | @jimkSportsnet  
December 22, 2005, 3:28 PM

Hard to believe, I know, but it has been three whole months since Sidney Crosby entered the NHL. That's three months of unrelenting madness with updates on everything from how he ties his laces to his favourite breakfast cereal. Yes, I too wish I was joking.

As bad as it is now, this time three months ago the league was in a state of mass hysteria. I won't need to remind you of the wild claims thrown around by both sides of the Crosby debate - depending on who you asked, this was either the second coming of Jesus or the end of the world. The passage of time has proved it neither of those things but that's not to say that concerns were unfounded. So, with the benefit of some perspective, let's have a closer look. How has the hockey world reacted to Sid the Kid?

Well, in recent days and in amusing contrast to the Christmas spirit, Crosby has been lambasted seemingly to the tune of a tirade-a-day by analysts and commentators who seem united in their opinion that the 18-year-old omega is a mouthy whiner who doesn't deserve a rumoured spot on the Canadian Olympic team, a right to protest calls made against him or his team and/or a right to open his mouth regards his former coach or his new coach. According to some, Crosby shouldn't be allowed to billet in team owner/player Mario Lemieux's home. The way the criticism is mounting, he shouldn't even be allowed to do interviews, drive a car, pick up pizza, or even come within sight of Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena without genuflecting to all the great players who have stepped on to its ice in the 30-plus years prior to his arrival there.

So yes, it has become a bit much. I don't think I'm out of line to suggest that my esteemed colleagues lighten up.

Worth pointing out though is that where there's smoke, there's fire. Crosby does whine. He definitely embellishes. He is arrogant. And anyone who has seen him play up-close can tell you that accusations of being a bossy little know-it-all are well-earned.

Of course, there are plenty of articles out there explaining why his yapping is warranted and many of them have valid points. Crosby is responding to what is clearly targeted abuse.

Open season on Sid the Kid began the moment he stepped onto New Jersey ice beneath a sign reading 'Bend over bitch!' Predictably, the signs have become no more creative and the chants no less vulgar.

On-ice the situation has been little more comfortable. On November 16th, Crosby had two or three teeth broken by Philidelphia Flyers' Derian Hatcher. No penalty was called, except on Crosby when he came out of the medical room and was roughed up by Hatcher again and yapped to the referee.

No doubt propelled by fury, Crosby took control of the game and won it in overtime. But Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock chirped about him diving and Peter Forsberg gave him an innuendo-laden chiding for not being rugged enough to take the pounding he can expect all his career.

As the fortunes of the Pittsburgh Penguins plummeted, the golden boy of the re-launched NHL only made things worse for himself. His behavioural issues escalated and others began to echo the Flyers' remarks. Buffalo Sabres announcers called him a crybaby. Cherry opened speculation on whether the problems stemmed from a Napoleon complex or from, how best to put this, being somewhat pent up.

When Olczyk was canned, Leafs commentator Bill Watters further questioned how much power Lemieux had designated his young house tenant - and how many temper tantrums a coach could be expected to deal with.

Superficially, it may seem inappropriate of my respected colleagues to make the only omega in the league their personal whipping boy. Tone-deaf, some might say.

What those people would have failed to appreciate is that this is hockey. Look at Pat Verbeek, Matthew Barnaby and Theo Fleury. Some of our most beloved players are much maligned, aggressive pests. Chirping is as much a part of the sport as the ice. Bloody beatings are game highlights.

There were a million ways that the hockey world could have reacted to Sid the Kid. Had commentators bit their tongues for fear of causing offence, I would have worried. Had organisations banned certain signs and chants, had players pulled their checks, or had the refs been protective with their whistles, I would have been concerned that the NHL had prioritised marketability over the game we all love. But the NHL has done none of that.

I am pleased to report that, like any other young player, Crosby has been welcomed with open arms into hockey's most brutish and sacred of traditions. What could be more progressive than that?

**Previous story:** Sidney Crosby Photo Journal  
**Next story:** Attendance on the upswing at Mellon Arena

 

 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette @PittsburghPG  
No Turin Olympics for Sidney Crosby. Will we ever see the omega super-star compete internationally. https://t.co/yBNsnfujV1

Kristina Lovvol @klovvol  
Pat Brisson, Sidney Crosby's agent, on Olympics team: "As I've said before, in my opinion Sidney thrives under pressure and could play with anyone in the world and make a difference."

 

The Hockey Writers @TheHockey Writer  
Hockey hysteria: Sid the Kid hooked, whined and dived his way to four penalties against Thrashers http://bit.ly/2LDNw26

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette @PittsburghPG Writer  
Whipped! Penguins' losing streak comes to an end as Crosby gives the Capitals a pounding https://t.co/GMw1G0AsD1

TSN Hockey @TSNHockey  
Meeting the Goon Squad. Penguins Cairns, VandanBussche, Roy have one purpose: to protect super-star Sid. http://tsn.ca/1.1305745

Deadspin @Deadspin  
Precocious, petulant prima donna or ultra-competitive super-star? Welcome to another calm and reasoned debate on hockey's hottest issue https://t.co/QUeW5WnHS0

ESPN @espn  
NHL Awards Watch - Calder Trophy race officially heats up https://t.co/LxneOONK6D

 

 

The hockey world is an insular group. It's a place where reputation matters and where newcomers need to know their place. Crosby's orientation had set him up as an outsider from the start, now his reputation for "whining" gave his exclusion legitimacy. At least in some circles, Crosby's penalty record was confirmation of the many concerns that had initially surrounded his joining the league.

Perhaps the clearest illustration of the hockey world's attitude to Crosby was in the awarding of the Calder Memorial Trophy. Given out at the end of the regular season to an outstanding rookie, voting is carried out by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association - essentially a collection of well-established hockey writers. In 2005, there should have been two main competitors.

There was the twenty-year-old Alexander Ovechkin, a Russian snipe shooter who moved like a freight-train and didn't need anyone's help to put himself on the scoresheet. Ovechkin finished his season with 52 goals and 54 assists.

Then there was Crosby. A natural playmaker with jaw-dropping passes who could put even his most offensively-challenged teammates on the map. Crosby finished his with 39 goals and 63 assists.

Frankly, those are both mind-blowing seasons.

In the end, Ovechkin took home the trophy and even the most ardent of Crosby fans would find that hard to argue with. A 50 goal rookie season is immensely impressive. Where the controversy leaked in was the margin by which he won. Crosby received not a single vote for first-place. Unbelievably, he received only three votes for second-place and eighteen for third. Defenseman Dion Phaneuf and goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist both placed higher than the young phenom.

"There were so many great young players that season," Crosby says when asked, "It was a huge honor just to be considered." To hockey's great credit, its players are famously uninterested in the individual trophies. For them, it's the Stanley Cup or bust so I have no doubt that Crosby is being truthful when he brushes off the snub. But it was a snub. So too was his conspicuous absence from the Canadian team at that year's Olympics.

As Crosby was discovering, change is slow.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I don't know much about Jay Leno and couldn't work him out from the 10 minutes of research I did. My apologies should anyone feel I did him a disservice. The interview this is based on is available [here](https://penguinhugs.tumblr.com/post/182542707583/baby-sid-is-such-a-quiet-sweet-bad-interviewee).
> 
> 2\. 'What Sidney Crosby should have said' was based on [this Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/23/no-i-wont-twirl-what-eugenie-bouchard-should-have-said) about the Eugene Bouchard twirling controversy. Also, my apologies to Potash fans. I don't mean to portray him as malicious, just thoughtless.
> 
> 3\. The Reddit thread from this article is heavily inspired by a similar thread on Hilary Knight's ESPN body issue photoshoot. I'm not linking it because ugh.
> 
> 4\. Weirdly sexual ways commentators talk about Sid. You might recognise a lot of these as being taken from real life. Obviously there is a big difference in context but still pretty weird. There aren't many articles online from 2005/6 so my main resource was [this](http://sidcrosby.blogspot.com) godsend of a blog: [Exhibit A](http://sidcrosby.blogspot.com/2005/11/slap-me-silly-sidney.html); [Exhibit B](http://sidcrosby.blogspot.com/2005/11/league-sees-new-hero-in-teen-idol.html); [Exhibit C](https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/hal-gill-nhl-stories).
> 
> 5\. Not particularly interesting but for honesty's sake, the details of the Calgary/Penguins game were stolen from [this recap](https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/gametracker/recap/NHL_20051203_CGY@PIT). The comments on Sid are taken from a different article which is no longer online but is quoted [here](http://sidcrosby.blogspot.com/2005/12/is-sid-really-that-vicious.html).
> 
> 6\. 'Baptism by fire' also took sections from real articles. One is available online, having been miraculously saved by [the wayback machine](https://web.archive.org/web/20051230025103/https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2005/12/27/1369703-sun.html). The other I found quoted [here](http://sidcrosby.blogspot.com/2005/12/defense-of-sidney-crosby.html). Oh yeah, and the 'bend over bitch' sign [is sadly real](https://www.thelocal.se/20081022/15138) though not in America or directed at Crosby.
> 
> Finally, the eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that Geno is no longer tagged. This fic is growing somewhat out of control. While he will of course still appear in a prominent role, I no longer think I'll be able to give him the attention that an individual tag would warrant. I don't want to mislead anyone.
> 
> Feedback and comments are, as ever, adored.


	4. '06-07 Building a Team

 

 

ESPN @espn  
It's official: no arm-twisting or middle-of-the-night negotiations needed for Penguins to sign Russian star Evgeni Malkin. https://t.co/ALvFxTLFit

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette @PittsbughPG  
Time for Crosby to write Chapter 2 https://t.co/uoNTUYgaOL

CBC Sports @cbcsports  
Penguins keep Staal, for now. Jordan will be strapping on blades to join brother Eric in the NHL this season. https://www.cbc.ca/1.5164899

Pensburgh @Pensburgh  
Extreme Makeover: Penguins Edition NHL Preview. This team is more than just a new manager and a fresh coat of paint. https://t.co/YVT5DhVy3V

The Globe and Mail @globeandmail  
Malkin the man in NHL's rookie class of 2006-07 - when he gets back on the ice, that is. https://t.co/8RAL8ScZxi

TribLIVE.com @TribLIVE  
Penguins Notebook: Recchi in mix with LeClair, Gonchar as alternate captains. http://bit.ly/2RDL3nC

 

 

In retrospect, the '06-07 season was a turning point in Penguins history. Years of sitting at the bottom of the league collecting top draft picks finally paid off with possibly the greatest collection of young talent the NHL has ever seen.

There was Crosby entering his second year and eager to continue his ransacking of the NHL record room. So too came goalie Marc-André Fleury whom the Penguins could at last afford to pay for the full season. Rookies Jordan Staal and Ryan Whitney made surprise jumps to NHL level, racking up nearly fifty goals apiece and setting a few records of their own.

I'll proudly admit to wearing a pair of nostalgia-tinted spectacles but the Penguins had assembled an embarrassment of riches. And that's without mentioning the real season standout: Russian superstar Evgeni Malkin.

The story of Malkin's explosion onto the American hockey scene has all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster: a rags-to-riches underdog, a dramatic Cold War-esque defection and a truly historic rookie season. One of the most naturally talented forwards of his generation, he slipped away from his Russian team via an airport bathroom in Finland. Within a week he was in Pittsburgh shaking hands with Mario Lemieux. Eight weeks after that he was NHL Rookie of the Month. And within a year he was winning the NHL Calder Memorial Trophy.

Malkin was the burst of youthful adrenaline that the Penguins had been lacking. Sure, the team had no scoring depth and all the defence of a particularly flimsy paper bag but Pitttsburgh fans weren't interested in the nitty-gritty details. For the first time in years, the team battled their way to a coveted playoff spot. The rebuilding years were over; the Malkin-Crosby era had begun.

Or at least, that's how Pittsburgh management would tell it.

Tarnishing this glorious come-back were constant damning reports of interpersonal tensions within the organisation.

 

 

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NHL @NHL  
How would you like to wake up to Sidney Crosby in your shower? Check out our new series of #GameOn! videos: https://t.co/lFETLqxNuC

Greg Wyshynski @wyshynski  
Puck Daddy: Therrien aims to provide discipline for sloppy Penguins https://t.co/OmCUYilRXS

 

ESPN @espn  
Statistically speaking, Crosby is best player in hockey. So why do the Penguins keep losing? https://t.co/3xcXUFbNyx

CBS Pittsburgh @CBSPittsburgh  
Sidney Crosby is “bit of a diva” says teammate Brooks Orpik https://cbsloc.al/2Lb0kw3

VICE Sports @VICESports  
The Penguins Need to Get Their Shit Together ASAP.  
Jealous name-calling towards their omega teammate accomplishes nothing.  
https://t.co/R4v2WmP8Dl

 

 

**proud-puckbunnies**

**anonymous** asked:  
you need to know that i LOVE your blog like you are my cup of tea in the morning. do you have any info on Sidney Crosby???

Ahaha no social and we've never met him but he's not popular with the wags. Definitely drama there lmao

Source: proud-puckbunnies   #anon #sidney crosby #pittsburgh penguins   
**5 notes**

 

 

From: Sid [21:19]  
To: Taylor  
LA sucks

From: Sid [21:22]  
To: Taylor  
I'm so bored

From: Taylor [21:25]  
To: Sid  
wow poor u

From: Taylor [21:25]  
To: Sid  
go bug ur team

From: Sid [21:26]  
To: Taylor  
They're out

From: Taylor [21:26]  
To: Sid  
then go join them!!!

From: Sid [21:27]  
To: Taylor  
Eh

From: Sid [21:27]  
To: Taylor  
Maybe next time

From: Taylor [21:28]  
To: Sid  
fine. go find me a souvenir then

From: Taylor [21:28]  
To: Sid  
something rly weird

From: Sid [21:29]  
To: Taylor  
I'll see what I can do :)

 

 

Frankly, to use the word 'tensions' is to put the situation mildly. Media reports from the time suggest something more akin to a small warzone. I don't doubt that these reports were wildly exaggerated - nothing brings in clicks like a good Crosby controversy - but they were pervasive enough to demand attention.

The passage of time has done little to illuminate the situation. Frankly, I suspect that until and unless a player involved releases their tell-all memoir, we fans will remain in the dark.

For my part, no matter how much I press and prod, bribe and banter, Crosby refuses to say a negative word about those early days. I shouldn’t be surprised. Crosby is almost as famous for his skill at dodging questions as he is at shooting pucks. "I was lucky to be surrounded by those guys, at the beginning there," is all he'll say on the subject. "We were a young team so the experience we did have, from the older guys, was very valuable."

It is hard to begrudge him his reticence. Following the shocking results of Laura Robinson's years long investigation into hockey's rape culture, what goes on in NHL-affiliated locker rooms has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. In recent weeks, stories from former players of sexual assault, of beatings with sawn-off goalie sticks and of being locked in bus bathrooms have led to a renewed focus on "hazing" culture. However, with the serious and timely discussions of how the league should clamp down on this ritualised abuse has come less thoughtful commentary. Looking for a new angle on the story, speculation, more salacious than sympathetic, soon turned to Crosby's early experiences in the NHL.

To be quite clear, the Pittsburgh Penguins have never been credibly implicated in accusations of abuse or sexual assault within the locker room. Crosby himself has been vehement in dismissing speculation as damaging and unscrupulous tabloid nonsense. That said, the absence of sexual abuse and physical beatings is hardly a guarantee of a healthy environment.

 

 

ABC News @abcnews  
Sidney Crosby's father dismisses claims of diva-like behavior, says family is lucky to have "perfect son" https://t.co/UaXARcbQNS

Alice Goodson @alicecgoodson  
Replying to @abcnews  
I usually find hockey media's obsession with overbearing fathers intolerable but MY GOD Troy Crosby is the parent every child deserves

Bruce Toombs @ultimatesuperbowlchamp  
Replying to @abcnews and 2 others  
pull the other one. imagine raising a kid for 15 yrs only to find that he's a bitch boy #cindycrosby

 

 

Bleacher Report  
**PITTSBURGH PENGUINS**

**Pittsburgh Penguins: 3 Reasons to Trade Sidney Crosby ******

[Image description: Diva? Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby speaks to two referees during Tuesday's away game against the New York Islanders]

___  
**Victor Mueller**  
JANUARY 5, 2007 at 9:35 PM  


The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently in a tailspin that is likely to end with them failing to make the playoffs for the sixth time in as many years. They are one of the most talented teams in the league by most standards, yet they stand on the cusp of elimination.

Barely two years out of an orchestrated tanking, the Penguins cannot afford more mediocrity. They need to be championship contenders. They need a change and they need it fast.

Sidney Crosby needs to go.

I will own that the arguments against trading Crosby are straightforward, and have merit. He leads the league with 66 points (21 goals, 45 assists) in 40 games. He scores goals worthy of the highlight reels and sets his teammates up with precision passes. All that and his contract is a pittance. What even constitutes a good return on that?

GM Ray Shero should weigh all those factors carefully. Then he should go ahead and make the deal anyway. Here's why.

**Most Desirable Player in the League**

Sidney Crosby's trade value will never be higher than it is now. He's a phenomenal player who's only going to get better and he's a guarantee of spectators in seats. There's no history of injury, no evidence of streakiness, nor yet any nagging questions about family planning. In short nothing at all to diminish his value.

As far as a return, Shero should demand at least two young, proven talents with favorable contracts. A potential top-pairing defenseman should be one of them. Then maybe a depth player and a first-round pick. There are plenty of teams out there - ideally in the Western Conference - that have the pieces to execute such a deal.

With a haul like that, Pittsburgh would be in a strong position for years of Cup runs.

**One Star Too Many**

The Penguins are in the enviable position of having too much talent. Evgeni Malkin's surprise defection and subsequent record-breaking rookie run has set him up as a franchise star. With him, Pittsburgh has found their answer to Alex Ovechkin.

If that weren't enough, Jordan Staal, Kristopher Letang and Chris Thorburn have all exceeded expectations. Given another year, each will be a regular top-liner. Any one of them, or indeed all of them, would be solid long-term investments.

In another team, Crosby would be the franchise star. Here in Pittsburgh, he’s one of many.

**Trouble In The Room**

How to phrase this nicely. It is increasingly clear that Crosby is not a good fit in Pittsburgh.

Rumblings have been coming from the locker room for a while. He's whiny, he's attention-seeking, he's unbearable to play with. And the same rumblings have come from players on the opposition. He's mouthy, he's a dirty player, he slashes and spears, dives and embellishes.

I'm not taking a pro-Crosby or an anti-Crosby stance but there is an obvious problem here. Players are professionals and we would not be hearing these rumors unless there were some truth to it. If team chemistry is suffering, something must be done. Trading Crosby is sure to smooth things over in the room.

It's a tricky situation but you know what they say. No pain, no gain. Seeing Sidney Crosby in another team's sweater would hurt, but for the Penguins to avoid a 1990s-Senators-esque slump, it is what needs to be done.

Facebook・Twitter・Copy Link  
COMMENTS ↓

 

 

Andrew Woods @andrew_woods  
Latest episode of In The Room has Therrien going absolutely foaming at the mouth crazy at the Penguins #iconic https://youtu.be/5adKoLl7KU8

Lauren @ItsMeLaurennn  
Replying to @andrew_woods  
Okay but why release this??? did the pens think this made them look tough? macho?? mildly unhinged??? the mind boggles

Stone Cold Colin @stoneycoldycolin  
Replying to @andrew_woods  
lots of people here who have never played hockey. hate to break it to you but alphas dont talk about sunshine and rainbows when their alone

 

The Sportster @The_Sportster  
Sid The Homewrecker? 5 Crazy Rumours About What’s Going On With The Pittsburgh Penguins https://t.co/RA22a0iFCq

 

 

**speedysid**

_[Six image gifset:_  
_Row One: Penguins promotional video showing Sidney Crosby and Marc-André Fleury with arms thrown around each other._  
_Row Two: Game footage of Crosby and Fleury hugging then knocking heads._  
_Row Three: Game footage of Crosby, Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin crashing violently together for an enthusiastic post-goal celebration]_

all the horrible stories about the pens have been really upsetting me lately so please enjoy this palate cleanser. adorable baby rookies. they deserve the world (but i'll settle for a cup)

**flowering29**

you're so right. our rookies this year are a blessing. some suitably adorable quotes (i cant gif so you just gotta imagine all the beaming smiles):

sid: “It’s great for us to be all so young in a young team. And it’s so exciting to be able to grow and learn together. Hopefully we’ll be together for a while” (x)

flower: “Me and Sid are plane buddies. If we don’t sit together on the plane or the bus then he won’t be able to score. I think it means that all his goals are really my goals.” (x)

sid on evgeni: “I’ve been looking forward to playing with him all summer. He’s a great player, explosive, loads of highlight reel goals. I'm so.... We’re all so glad that he’s finally here.” (x)

Source: speedysid   #:'') #flower's power comes from his smile #oh and nobody better be shipping these kids or i swear to god   
**1,008 notes**

 

 

**To:** Troy Crosby (troy.crosby@hotmail.com)  
**From:** Pat Brisson (pat@caagency.com)  
**Subject: Sidney's Media Strategy**  
**Attachment:** Sidney_Crosby_media_strategy(1).pdf

Hi Troy,

Under normal circumstances I wouldn't comment on your media presence. Your handling of the situation has been admirable for years. However as I'm sure you've seen, your ABC interview has been gathering momentum and there have been rumblings from the Penguins front office.

While I fully understand the desire to alleviate some of the media pressure on your boy, I'm concerned that, in the long-term, interviews like these can cause more harm than good. My worry is that a focus on Sidney's orientation, regardless of positive or negative, will become a distraction from his skill and invite unwanted commentary. The approach currently being favored by the Penguins PR team is to direct attention away from Sidney's orientation as much as possible, turning answers instead towards his on-ice performance and stats. I have attached the most recent strategy briefing and would recommend that you give it a skim

We've all got Sidney's best interests at heart and I'm keen that we work together on this. Should you want to discuss this issue further or have any suggestions regarding strategy, drop me a line and I'd be happy to set up a meeting with myself or with Jennifer Bullano, your primary point of contact with Pens PR.

All my best to you and Trina.

Pat

Pat Brisson

Co-Head Creative Artists Agency  
+177125 266392

 

 

Professional sports is a workplace like no other. Players are together for days, even weeks at a time, eating, sleeping, travelling and working, sharing the highs and the lows of one of the most fiercely competitive games in the world. But it's still a workplace. It's how players feed their families, how they educate their kids and save for what will inevitably be an early retirement. And all that money is dependent not only on your own performance, but on the performance of the player next to you.

Best case scenario is that the intensity creates an almost familial bond between players. On ice, they'll know instinctively what their linemate is planning; off ice, they'll push each other to work harder, to go the extra mile. The hope is that what a guy can't do for the owner, the coach or even himself, he'll do for his team.

But there's a flipside to that. In any large group, there'll be people you like and people you like less. Some you'll gravitate towards, going out for drinks and playing video games together, and some will just rub you the wrong way. There's a tribalism in us that runs from cliquey high school days right through our adult lives. Why would the NHL be any different?

Over the course of a long season, petty jealousies, rivalries and old-fashioned personality clashes can be inflamed to a fever pitch. And it didn't take a full season for visible cracks to appear in the Penguins.

It was the kind of interpersonal drama that we fans salivate over. Everyone wants to get that little bit closer to the athletes we see on our TVs, to peel back the masks, find out what's going on beneath the skin. And eager to provide us with all the answers, strictly verifiable or not, is the media.

The narrative that rose to the surface was of a bitter locker room split, punctuated by "pranks" that toed the line of acceptable, shouting matches and even, rumour has it, physical fights.

 

 

[ARCHIVE]  
**Spittin' Chiclets Episode 180: Featuring Joey Vitale**  
28/10/18  
Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette and Rear Admiral team up to bring their outspoken and irreverent opinions to the masses. Focusing on the NHL but also touching on pop culture and stories from their days in the show. New episodes air Monday and Thursday on Barstool Sports.

[EXCERPT BEGINS 0:48:01]

VITALE: ... So I like, balls to the wall that summer. I went so hard and made the team out of camp. Very fortunately, they took a good chance on me and I spent four years there and... Playing with Sid was... Yeah, I mean, it was stressful because you're like... My whole day in practice I was trying to strategically place myself in line where I didn't have to go with Sid.

WHITNEY: Oh, I... I dealt with that in Pittsburgh.

VITALE: Right?

BISSONNETTE: I remember doing the 'one, one, two, two' thing-

VITALE: Yes! _[laughs]_

BISSONNETTE: -oh shit. 'Will you go ahead of me, my lace's broken.'

_[laughter]_

BISSONNETTE: 'Cos I did not want to go against him.

VITALE: A hundred percent! _[laughs]_ I will admit, there are players out there who want to go against him, show off a bit, get in some posturing. I didn't. I got a healthy alpha pride and...

_[laughter]_

VITALE: Yeah, no. Absolutely not. I never wanted to go, like, on a two-on-one with him. You kidding me? No way. I'm not passing to him! So I wouldn't do that. I'd leave that to Chris Kunitz and those guys 'cos that's what they... he wants to play with them anyway. So we didn't really play too much together in practice.

BISSONNETTE: But, Sid being Sid and all, it was a crazy team.

VITALE: Yeah. I mentioned the posturing which got, I mean, it actually got physical. And then, yeah. I do remember... You know Johnny LeClair, the old veteran. He'd seen it all and he was just constantly ripping on guys but in the best possible way - Johnny, shout out to you, you know I love you. He probably hates my guts too, I used to drive him insane - Either way that's besides the point. He found the whole thing, just, hilarious. As long as I was there, he had this running bet with the other vets. Like, you know, who'd be the guy to finally put Sid down. Get him to just chill out, stop talking hockey and sub for maybe half an hour.

_[laughter]_

BISSONNETTE: No way.

VITALE: Yeah! There was a lot of money in that thing. Think, it was, Scuds was the favorite for a while.

BISSONNETTE: That's unbelievable. What a guy. You know, it'd've been fine for Johnny but for... for the rest of us pigeons-

_[laughter]_

BISSONNETTE: -like, Sid was a sweet kid, but you just knew. You went too far and you'd be going down the coast. Not the A, the coast.

_[laughter]_

VITALE: Totally, yeah... Pit was freaking weird.

BISSONNETTE: You said it. Well, let's talk about some times in Phoenix.

[EXCERPT ENDS]

 

 

**THE ATHLETIC**  
**NHL**

**On paper the Penguins have it all, in the locker room they are barely a team**

By Dwayne Chak Apr 18, 2007

Locker room chemistry.

It's one of sport's most popular cliches. That elusive factor that can make or break a team. Now, one loss away from being swept in the first round of the playoffs, it's never been more relevant for Pittsburgh.

"Just being in the room at the moment is miserable. Everyone's furious with each other," said one person connected to the Penguins who spoke on condition of anonymity. "That's a bad feeling. But that's how it feels."

Who gets the blame depends on who you ask.

Some will blame Sidney Crosby, for yapping, for arrogance, for demanding he be treated more like a veteran than a second-year rookie, or for all the above.

Some will point to Mark Recchi, the alternate captain who dangled his experience and influence over the head of his teammates and tested the patience of his peers.

Perhaps the lion's share should go to general manager Ray Shero and coach Michel Therrien, who created a uniquely complicated and wholly unsupportive locker room situation, throwing their leadership under the bus and, most importantly, allowing an in-house feud to spiral into a league-wide debate.

The irony. In the end, it may not be the Philadelphia Flyers or the Washington Capitals to defeat the resurgent Penguins. What if it's failing organs and internal bleeding that forces another five years of damning mediocrity? What if one of the most exciting teams in NHL history was broken apart by petty player rivalries and poor communication.

\--

  
By now, everyone knows that this rift boils down to Recchi and Crosby. I talked to multiple sources - in the locker room, the front office and to adjacent parties - to find out how this happened and what happens next.

The drama has its roots in Pittsburgh's last disastrous season, and the team's growing frustration with Crosby's excessive penalty taking. It had been a constant low-key issue with players. A certain number of penalties is inevitable for rookies transitioning to NHL standard but the unsportsmanlike conduct and embellishment calls kept coming. Enough was enough. Determined to prevent a repeat in the '06-07 season, Recchi took Crosby under his wing.

Sources describe how on numerous occasions, upon returning to the locker room post-game, Recchi proceeded to grill Crosby on his play. Depending on Crosby's response, the grilling became a shouting match. Names and accusations were thrown around. Bystanders were dragged in. Sides were taken.

Those regularly coming to Crosby's defense have been fellow rookies Colby Armstrong and Marc-Andre Fleury. Unsurprisingly, veterans John LeClair, Robert Scuderi and Lyle Odelein have sided with Recchi. Others have tried to avoid the conflict but many privately admitted to sympathizing with Recchi.

The issue is that Crosby is not an easy guy to play with.

"He's probably the most frustrating player in our league now," Florida Panthers defenseman Mike Van Ryn told the Palm Beach Post in February. "He wants to go against you. He wants to beat you one-on-one. He wants to make you look bad. He's a good player but he's not making any friends."

This attitude would be fine if restricted to the opposition but the young phenom can't help himself. According to multiple sources, Crosby plays with a chip the size of Kentucky on his shoulder. He's aggressive and hyper-competitive, less interested in working with his teammates, than showing them up.

"I don't care what his orientation is," a source said. "the problem is his ego: [Crosby] can't take any sort of advice or instruction from his teammates. He's very talented but he hasn't got the experience or the temperament a star needs."

The general consensus: Recchi was wrong for going so hard and so often at the rookie Crosby instead of developing a hard-but-civil mentor relationship, and Crosby was wrong for responding so aggressively. Crosby needs to lose the ego and work as a part of the team. But the general consensus also is that Therrien has handled the situation poorly.

Drafting Sidney Crosby guaranteed a storm of attention. Pittsburgh management took full advantage of that, selling seats and merch in droves, but failed to adequately consider the disadvantages. "I think the guys were unprepared for Crosby," one front office executive said, "and the locker room suffered because of it."

He demanded a total rejig of locker room culture and a huge amount of patience and understanding on the part of a team of alphas who would spend the season being over-shadowed and outplayed by an omega. The burden of talking about it, reading about it, hearing about it, was considerable. Worse still, rather than helping the players adjust, management left them to handle themselves.

According to several in the locker room, Therrien could have ended this by just stepping in and facilitating calm communication. But Therrien wasn't interested. Team building, he claimed, wasn't his remit. His tough love approach to coaching was better suited to verbal batterings: "You suck more every time I see you, fucking pussies," he was quoted as telling the room after one tense practice.

\--

  
By now, the damage has been done.

The question is whether anyone has words powerful enough to bridge chasms now permanent.

In the middle of the visiting locker room at the Izod Center last night, as voices rose with the tension, an unlikely source stepped up and re-shifted the focus of the frustrated Penguins.

"We all want to win," Sergei Gonchar, the Russian alternate captain, said before the game, per accounts of people in the room. "That's all this is about. We all want to win. I think we're the only team that can beat us. Nobody else can beat us."

_(Photo: Aruna Anthony/USA TODAY Sports)_

\--  
**What did you think of this story?**  
MEH       SOLID       AWESOME  
\--

**166 COMMENTS**

**Sean H.**   **121 likes**  
I like Sid as a hockey player, always have, and he’s been amazing for us so far but man, he sounds like a brat in this. Good luck Recchi.

**Musaad K.**   **75 likes**  
Management needs to realize maintaining the culture is more important than appeasing Crosby. Even if Crosby leaves you can find another star, like Malkin maybe, but letting the division get to this point hurts much more longterm.

**Matthew K.**   **56 likes**  
This is a crap and totally avoidable situation. Fans have been saying this would happen since the day Crosby was drafted. What did Shero expect when he put an omega in an NHL team??

**Aidan P.**   **24 likes**  
The culture of what, berating a teammate?

**Macey O.**   **33 likes**  
Yup, I was waiting for your take on this. This definitely clarifies things a lot. Thanks.

**Alexander H.**   **30 likes**  
Maybe Sid is a problem but what can the Pens do about it? The problem with trading Sidney Crosby is that then some other team has Sidney Crosby.

**Benny I.**   **26 likes**  
Yes, that is generally how a trade would work. People need to stop relying on the ESPN for all their analysis - Crosby is not some kind of hockey messiah, he is completely tradeable.

**Dougie W.**   **37 likes**  
Between the inflammatory title and the reliance on “sources” who seem to take both sides of every issue, cotton candy has less fluff than this piece.

 

 

**forsbergy**

scalding hot take but sid is 19 and recchi is 39. if there's a "rift" in the team maybe we should not blame the teenager?

Source: stilltheman   #op you freaking said it   
**133 notes**

 

 

In retrospect, the problems seem to have sprung largely from a lack of healthy leadership. Pittsburgh had been captainless since Mario Lemieux's retirement in early 2005. In his absence, coach Michel Therrien was counting on the older players to provide their very young team with that all-important guidance and stability. Chief amongst these veterans was Mark Recchi who took to his new role with gusto. Some would say too much gusto.

"I think it was an unusual situation and it all got blown out of proportion," said an exasperated Recchi when I caught up to him. I ask him if he would say the atmosphere in Pittsburgh was a positive one. "Look, what happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room. Obviously I was trying to help people out, trying to help the young guys get through things, and it wasn't always going to be a positive thing if I thought there was something that needed to be addressed. But Crosby was a good kid."

And who among us could fault Recchi for his over-enthusiasm? He was well-established in the league, an alpha, a fan-favorite, and a future Hall of Fame-er; had things gone well in Pittsburgh, he may even have been a candidate for the captaincy. Then there was Crosby, a bossy know-it-all with a Napoleon complex and no respect for the subtleties of locker room hierarchies. It was only natural for the _de facto_ leader to take him down a few pegs.

In the end, the stress of playoffs proved too much for a team already beset by behind-the-scenes chaos.

The season culminated in a disappointing first round ejection that left fans furious. To see your team lose is always painful. To see your first viable team in years sunk by middle school-style drama proved almost too much to bear.

 

 

NYT Sports @NYT_Sports  
Unstoppable, Sidney Crosby Storms the Rink for Another Set of Records https://nyti.ms/2JnZgmp

 

Yahoo Sports NHL @YahooSportsNHL  
Ottawa 3, Pittsburgh 0. The Senators bring a decisive end to Sidney Crosby’s playoffs debut. https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2007041914

TSN @TSN_Sports  
Staal in, Crosby out for Moscow. Only one of Pitssburgh’s young guns will be joining Canada for the upcoming IIHF world hockey championship. https://t.co/rULA8Z1BYv

 

NHL @NHL  
He was a dynamite rookie, and now @emalkin71geno is the Calder Trophy winner! #NHLAwards

NHL on NBC @NHLon NBCSports  
Congratulations to Roberto Luongo, winner of the Hart Trophy! #NHLAwards #NHLAwards

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
120 points  
36 goals  
84 assists  
No surprises here - Sidney Crosby wins Art Ross Trophy as the league’s highest scorer. The youngest winner ever and, of course, the first omega. #Crosby

Sarah E @RockingThruMonday  
Replying to @penguins  
The Crosby haters won’t appear on this. They can’t cry bias now. Crosby is a phenomenal player and that’s just the cold hard facts. 

Kara Graves @forthehawks  
Replying to @penguins  
absolutely shocking that 

Neeter @neeter1  
Replying to @penguins  
he can score on me any time he likes o.o 

Zach Bradders @zaq_bradley  
Replying to @penguins and @RockingThruMonday  
Individual awards don’t count for shit if your whole team hates you. Pens will never win anything with sid the bitch on the team #tradecrosby

 

 

PENGUINS/NHL  
**Mark Madden: Sophomore slump for Sid the Kid?**

**MARK MADDEN**  
TRIB LIVE Saturday, July 2, 2007 8:39 p.m. 

School’s out for summer. It’s that time of the year when kids across America are hiding report cards from their parents. So how should everyone’s favorite hockey phenom feel about the final semester of his sophomore year? Let's check out Sidney Crosby's postseason report card.

It was assuredly not an auspicious end to the season. The Ottawa Senators delivered the youthful Penguins a stern lesson in playoff hockey.

Men will do that to boys.

If there is anything this postseason has shown the Penguins’ golden boy, it’s that he’s still got a lot to learn. Smothered by a strong Sens defence, he was held pointless for the last two games of the season proving that old adage: one player, no matter how good, cannot carry a team.

**Playoffs hockey: A-**

Fans might have looked for a redemption narrative out of the Moscow Worlds but it was not to be. A broken left foot kept Crosby home as the Canadian team captured gold.

There’s not much anyone can do about poorly-timed injuries but Crosby has a slippery history with international play. It is in fact one area of the game where Crosby lags solidly behind his peers. This year he became the first Art Ross winner to have never competed internationally and fans are beginning to take note. 

Is it the time commitment? The relatively low pay? Does Crosby just hate Canada? Whatever the case, it’s not a great look.

**International performance: C+**

Finally, the glitziest event of the year, the prom night of the hockey world: the NHL Awards.

Make no mistake, these were a disappointment for Crosby. Becoming the youngest Art Ross winner in history is a truly impressive achievement - but he’d already won that. The real excitement in June lies elsewhere.

Crosby was short-listed for both the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award. Both are prestigious awards that demonstrate more than talent. They demonstrate a level of respect that the player has earned within the wider hockey community. As the awarding system for these honours is based on voting by one's peers, they can't be won with brute force. Something more is required: finesse, charm, sportsmanship.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, Crosby missed both awards. What could have been a historic, triple-victory season became merely impressive.

**NHL Awards: B**

All in all, we think Sid will escape being grounded but we’re not thrilled. Not angry, just disappointed.

 

 

From: Mom [15:11]  
To: Sid  
We’ll be at the airport at 12.30 tomorrow. We’re all so excited to have you home, sweetheart!

From: Sid [15:20]  
To: Mom  
i'm looking forward to seeing you guys too :)

From: Sid [15:26]  
To: Mom  
been a long season

From: Mom [15:28]  
To: Sid  
<3

From: Mom [15:28]  
To: Sid  
Taylor says that's a heart.

From: Sid [15:29]  
To: Mom  
:)

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. As ever, many of the Tweets refer to real articles. Including the bizarre Sidney Crosby in the shower [TV spot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkQObfn7MFI). The NHL is baffling.
> 
> 2\. The examples of "hazing" mentioned in the pseudo-Guardian article are all true. Laura Robinson is a real person whose research into junior hockey culture is hugely shocking and important. For more information, Daniel Carcillo and Theo Fleury are two players who have been outspoken about the abuse they experienced while playing. I cannot emphasise enough that **I very much do not intend to make light of what is a really awful issue.**
> 
> 3\. I write media fic in no small part to avoid having to write dialogue so the Spittin’ Chiclets snippet is taken near word for word from [the real SC Episode 179](https://player.fm/series/spittin-chiclets-1550122/spittin-chiclets-episode-179-featuring-joey-vitale) featuring Joey Vitale. If you haven’t listened to it and can bear the incessant laddish "humour", it’s got some fun Penguins anecdotes.
> 
> 4\. I used a lot of artistic license on the details of the 06-07 season. There were rumours of a Recchi/Crosby feud (see [here](https://archive.triblive.com/news/recchi-downplays-rift-with-crosby/) and here for fun and highly unreliable speculation) but that was more dated to 05-06. Certainly, Lyle Odelein had retired by the beginning of the 06-07 season. Similarly, the Penguins were never one match away from being swept in the playoffs. It just sounded cooler like that.
> 
> Finally, I am sorry that this was much later than I originally anticipated. Thanks so much to everyone who left feedback. It honestly means so much.


	5. '07-08 Two-Headed Monster

 

 

Dave Molinari @MolinariPGH  
The Sidney Crosby contract extension is done. Should be announced today. Five-year deal. The AAV I believe is somewhere between $6.9 million and $7.1 million... 

Kyle @KyleStocker  
Replying to @MolinariPGH  
I'm by no means a fan of the kid but keeping him on the team at a price like that and without the hassle of rfa seems like a solid deal

 

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
The Pittsburgh Penguins have agreed to terms with forward Sidney Crosby on a five-year contract extension. The deal will run through the 2012.13 campaign and carries an average annual value of $7 million.  
Full details: pens.pe/2ZV7MP7  
#LetsGoPens

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
Replying to @penguins  
Penguins GM Ray Shero on Crosby: "When you've got a guy who leads the league in scoring at the age of 19, you know you have someone very special. It is exciting news for our franchise and our fans to have him under contract for the next six seasons."

lila lin @lilalin245  
Replying to @penguins  
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES 

 

TSN Sport @TSN_Sports  
How does Crosby's contract change the landscape for Penguins and the league? www.tsn.ca/1.1352265

Mia Jones @mia4president  
nice to see that the pay gap is alive and well even among millionaire athletes #nhl

Sam Reyes @samuelreyes3  
Closest comparable to league high-scorer Crosby's contract (5x7m with PIT) is Spezza (6x7m with TOR). That's a solid discount for Shero and will go a long way in padding out salaries for Malkin, Staal and Fleury.

CBC Sports @cbcsports  
Don't let the comparables fool you, Crosby's contract is no selfless discount. The numbers may look low, but there's no one around who would pay him more, argues @Allen_Muir. https://t.co/Q6frnYcJJt?amp=1

The Onion @TheOnion  
Pay inequity has risen to become the 14th-most significant ethical scandal in professional hockey. trib.al/6K2FH8a

Sports Illustrated @SInow  
The Price of Stardom: Could signing Crosby cost the Penguins their shot at the Cup? go.si.com/rFjuksR

 

 

The summer of 2007 demanded that Penguins management make a choice: either send Crosby packing or double down. The organisation was done with petty-politicking dragging them down in rankings they ought to have been dominating. You won't be surprised to hear the result of their decision making. LeClair and Odelein were out, Crosby got a new contract, and Pittsburgh reaped the dividends.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of Evgeni Malkin to this decision.

Today, Malkin is over-shadowed on all sides, playing second fiddle to Crosby in Pittsburgh and Ovechkin in Russia. His image in popular consciousness has been so moulded by the constant comparisons as to become the negative of Crosby's.

Crosby is so dedicated that his coach confiscates his skates to enforce breaks, Malkin likes to mess around in practices. Crosby knows the name of every kid who attends his summer school, Malkin knows half his teammates by their number. Crosby is quietly restrained in conversation, Malkin is all sweeping hand gestures and belly laughs. Crosby is a grinder and playmaker, Malkin a flashy goal-scorer and sniper.

Their depictions are a study in dichotomies: the Canadian golden boy and the Russian bear. Some of it is even true. Most isn't.

 

 

**Recap: Q &A with Rob Rossi about the Penguins' offseason on July 15**  
Thanks to everyone who joined Rob Rossi as he answered your questions about the Penguins' busy offseason. There's still more moves to make. Read it all here.

**Rob Rossi** \- 96 Comments

**Benny C.**   **7 likes**  
Geno's been here for over a year now and still doesn't seem to speak a word of english. Should we expect to see rumors that he's headed back to Russia?

**Rob Rossi**   **15 likes**  
No, I think we're safe on that front. Malkin had a fantastic rookie season, he works well with the team, and management loves him. I see at least an A in his future. I also suspect that his English is better than he'll let on to the press.  
On a similar note, you've got to wonder if he hasn't burnt his bridges with respect to the KHL. Even if he headed back tomorrow, I wouldn't be surprised if he got a very cold reception (no pun intended).

**Darcy P.**   **4 likes**  
I'm honestly surprised he want back over the summer. Bet he kept his head down and his mouth shut.

**Mikah T.**   **3 likes**  
Are we ever gonna get that arena?

**Rob Rossi**   **5 likes**  
I'm wrestling with this one, Darcy. In theory, the money is there and we even have a deal to get at it. In practice, if the state legislature recesses for the summer without approving the funding then we'd be looking at a long delay and then probably another deal. I'd say give it a few more weeks, then start worrying.

 

 

**NHL defection a slap shot at Russian pride**  
Russian language radio shows and exclusive merchandise are cold comfort for betrayed fans.

**By A. Rodriguez**   
CHICAGO TRIBUNE | NOV 12, 2007 | 7:00 AM

Magnitogorsk, Russia -- The engine that drives this gritty, weather-beaten city of belching smokestacks and trolley lines is steel, but its heart and soul is hockey. The pro team here, Metallurg, polishes its prodigies from the age of 6. And it almost always fills its aging 3,500-seat stadium with screaming fans adorned in Metallurg red, white and blue.

So imagine the devastation when Magnitogorsk's favorite son, Metallurg forward Evgeni Malkin, disappeared from the team in Helsinki, Finland to embark on a career in the NHL. Even two years later, the hurt is as raw as ever.

"What he did isn't right--it's not honest and it's not fair to the team that did so much for him," said Pavel Alikayev, a Magnitogorsk psychologist, before catching a game at Metallurg's Romazan Ice Sports Palace.

That's a standard reaction from fans who feel that their home town hero betrayed them for the superficial glamour of the NHL. What kind of alpha chooses fat contracts and lucrative endorsements over the motherland? Or worse still, does so by sneaking without a word away from his team and countrymen?

The reaction from Malkin's bosses at Metallurg has been even more vitriolic. Metallurg general manager Gennady Velichkin called the affair "disgraceful" and accused the NHL of engaging in "pure sports terrorism."

Others are more sympathetic to the young superstar. Russian players will readily admit the action on Russian rinks is slower. And at times there have been talletale signs of organized crime's intrusion into the sport. Russian Ice Hockey Federation President Valentin Sych was shot dead in April 1997. The next year, an apparent contract killing claimed St. Petersburg hockey player Nikolai Nikitin. In January 2001, Metallurg Magnitogorsk goalie...

 

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This article is related to: Russia, Ice Hockey, Europe, Evgeni Malkin, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, American Hockey League

 

 

Try, for a minute, to set aside what you know about the Malkin of today. In 2007, his situation could not have been more different. The young Evgeni Malkin had given up his home, his friends and his country for a chance at greatness. He was Pittsburgh's emergent star and he did not intend to stay in any man's shadow.

"For one game, at his best, I would take [Malkin] before anyone in the world," said retired teammate Maxime Talbot. And during those early seasons, Malkin was at his best. Unquestioned team MVP, league All-Star, Hart Trophy finalist, franchise points, goals and assists leader. The following season he would only get better. "He had it in his head that he was going to dominate. And that's exactly what he did," says Bill Guerin, Penguins assistant GM.

More than that, he was exhilarating to watch, a human highlight-reel. Malkin's ridiculous spin-o-rama goals quickly became league legends. His wild swings of emotion which sent him from penalty box to goal scoring then back to the penalty box made him immensely popular with fans and teammates alike. In short, Malkin was a natural star and exactly what Pittsburgh had been looking for.

At that point, the Penguins had been captainless for nearly two years. That's by no means an unusual gap in the NHL; captaincy is a very public vote of confidence and one which comes with some hefty responsibilities - it's certainly not something a team wants to get wrong. "Leadership by committee" as the Penguins had been calling their interim system, is a common substitute in younger or rebuilding teams.

Still, management was keenly aware that not since 1972 had a captainless team won the Stanley Cup. Pittsburgh had big dreams and Malkin, riding high off his record breaking Calder Trophy run, was as strong a captaincy candidate as one could hope for. Sure, his inability to string more than three sentences together without a translator wasn't ideal but he was young, given a few years and some team-mandated tuition that was bound to improve. Why look such an obvious gift horse in the mouth?

 

 

Pens Inside Scoop @PensInsideScoop  
Recchi on Malkin: He's really good. He's going to be scary good. I hate to bring up this comparison, but I don't think we've seen anybody else who can skate like him and do as much as him. He's as close to Mario as we're going to see for a long time. (1/2)

Pens Inside Scoop @PensInsideScoop  
Replying to @PensInsideScoop  
Recchi on Malkin: Obviously, some people have tried to pass that torch along to other people, but the way he skates and sees the ice, he's the whole package. (2/2)

 

 

**NHL is Banking on Wrong Patchy, Bearded Faces of the Game**  
By Stanley Cup of Chowder | @stanleycupofchowdah | 25 February 2008, 10:27 EDT

Last year, the NHL got exactly what it wanted when Sid the Kid and the upstart Pittsburgh Penguins made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. But if you ask me the league is making a mistake by pushing Sidney Crosby as the peach fuzz playoff-bearded face of the NHL. Although Sidney Crosby is a talented young player, he seems to be stricken with Tiger Woods syndrome (acute blandness in the presence of media and chronic whininess).

The NHL is lucky in that there is an equally talented, much more exciting, entertaining and charismatic player around: Mr Alexander Ovechkin. What makes Ovie so likable? It could be his Eurotrash inspired wardrobe and love of the night life. Or maybe that he met his girlfriend online. Or his tremendous interview skills that haven't been seen in the game of hockey since Denis Lemieux. Whatever it is, his popularity is undeniable.

Bettman must be aware that Crosby is hardly a ticket-seller because the NHL has been doing their level best to liven him up by way of a climactic rivalry with Alexander Ovechkin. But the narrative won't take off and that's because there's nothing behind it. Just check out this hilariously awkward photoshoot to see what I mean. You can imagine Ovechkin groping Crosby on live television and Crosby responding with typical robotic blandness.

So focusing on Ovie is a good move on the NHL's part but this manufactured rivalry rubbish needs to end. Fortunately, Pittsburgh has a better option: Evgeni Malkin.

Malkin has Crosby-level skills but is bigger, angrier and (often unintentionally) hilarious. Even better, there's no need to fabricate the beef. Geno and Ovie were once Olympics team roommates but that friendship has dissolved into one of the best feuds in hockey history. Watch any Caps/Pens game and you're guaranteed to see Ovie or Geno targeting each other with nasty slashes and colossal hits. Off the ice things are even more exciting with Ovie apparently taking a swing at Geno's Russian agent in a night club. Personally I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a good old fashioned on-ice beat down. My money's on Ovie.

We'll probably never know what all this testiness is about (though my own pet theory is that it's over a certain hockey-playing omega). What is clear is that the NHL should take full advantage of this testosterone-fueled clash of the titans. Forget Crosby, Malkin is the Penguin we should be talking about.

**SB NATION**  
FanPosts | FanShots | Masthead | Community Guidelines | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube  
VOX MEDIA

 

 

**ESPN On Ice with Amber and Broder Show - PodCenter - ESPN**  
February 2017  
The Boston Bruin's Jeramy Reich speaks to David Amber on a changing NHL culture and fighting Sidney Crosby.

[EXCERPT BEGINS 0:17:40]

AMBER: But can you really win a fight like that? Let's say you broke his jaw or gave him a concussion. Then you're known as the alpha who beat up Sidney Crosby. Isn't it a losing battle for you?

REICH: _[Laughs]_ If I did that, I would have to fight Georges Laraque every time we played Pittsburgh. I wouldn't want that _[laughs]_.

AMBER: Crosby cut you during the fight. How good a fighter is he?

REICH: No, his visor cut me. He came up and his visor cut the top of my head. He's not a great fighter. Go back to your earlier question [on leadership]. Look at someone like Jarome, or even another Penguin, I've seen a lot of comparison to Evgeni Malkin. Malkin in my books is a better hockey player than Crosby because he does those things. He will fight, he will lay his body on the line and take the hit and not complain if someone hits him and stuff like that. The superstars of the league should have to do that because they're not ice-skating princesses. Hockey is an emotional game, you have to stand up for yourself. You have to stand up for your actions. If you punch somebody in the face, then you should fight, that's the way hockey is supposed to be.

AMBER: So are you saying Crosby is a little soft?

REICH: Yeah, and that's only natural. He's no Malkin, for sure.

[EXCERPT ENDS]

 

 

**stilltheman**

so fuck reich but i will literally give my first born child to the person who draws ice-skating disney princess malkin

Source: stilltheman   #pleaseee #i need it #for reasons   
**84 notes**

 

 

Speculation had said that Crosby would be impossible to build a team around. No winger of quality would enjoy being out-performed and ordered around by a bossy omega. Such had been proven by the senseless drama of the season before. It seemed that Crosby was destined to be stuck on a rotating line of depth players who only put up with him for the points. Malkin, in particular, shouldn't have lasted a year before striking out to star in his own franchise. After all, "Russians are Russians," or so I was told by one established hockey writer.

It's a peculiarity of the NHL: for such an international sports league, the amount of anti-European sentiment is shocking, and no ethnicity has been as heavily scrutinized as the Russians. Initially they were decried as dour and robotic. Now they're all flashy goals and showmanship. As charismatic and exciting as they are to watch, they're lazy and selfish players, certainly not the type to be content to live in an omega's shadow. The whole of the hockey world was watching the Penguins, waiting for sparks to fly.

But Malkin wouldn't play ball. He not only thrived on Crosby's wing, but was clearly and vocally pleased to be there. "I got very lucky that I got on the same team with Sidney Crosby," he haltingly told one interviewer, an unusual earnestness coloring his voice. "To me, he is the number one player in the world. I won't say why other players are not as good as he is. To me, he is the best. I have played with a lot of guys."

Fans found it mystifying. That Malkin with all his phenomenal talent would squander it like that was unthinkable. Was the Russian, with his broken English and quiet reticence, too thick to understand the orientation-based politics swirling round his head? Was he greedy for the spotlight that came with playing on the same team as Sid the Kid? Was there perhaps a carnal reason for his willingness to acquiesce to Crosby?

 

 

The Hockey Writers @TheHockeyWriter  
When Statistics Lie: the truth behind hockey's "second assist" https://t.co/VjHHwo3gty?amp=1

 

 

r/hockey   
[The Athletic] Do Some NHL Stars Get More Assists At Home Than They Deserve?  
u/Satanic_Pope  
Share   710 Comments   ・・・   ↑ 1.5k ↓ 

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・・・   ↑ ・ ↓

u/silverswimmer85  
If you don't have a subscription, the article is basically a thorough investigation into why secondary assists are such a sham metric. Main point is that some players get considerably more secondary assists at home than away. Predictably secondary Sid had the highest differential with 22 at home last season, and 12 away.  
・・・   ↑ 346 ↓

More Comments (3)

u/fuckyoudogg  
congrats guys! our theory hit mainstream  
・・・   ↑ 944 ↓

u/fitzbastard  
Can't wait to hear what the Pens fans are going to come up with next to defend golden boy  
・・・   ↑ 721 ↓

u/GhostFire  
at this point us yinzers are more angry about this than you guys are  
・・・   ↑ 280 ↓

u/obvioustable02  
We are literally a laughing stock  
・・・   ↑ 46 ↓

u/fanatick  
There is clearly an issue with the assist system. Secondary assists gravitate towards "premier" players who are on ice a lot and they can be pretty phony. Plus whatever your thoughts on Crosby, it is laughable that a secondary assist is equal to a primary assist or a goal.  
・・・   ↑ 1.1k ↓

u/brettkickeditin  
Yeah, I've seen him "earn" some pretty sketchy assists. I genuinely think the league's marketing department is in cahoots with the refs. I swear, one of these days he's going to get an assist when he wasn't even on the ice for the goal.  
・・・   ↑ 356 ↓

u/nuftjedl  
It's already happened. Seven times in fact. I made a Youtube video proving it.  
・・・   ↑ 118 ↓

u/imau2fan  
So you actually believe a specific edict has been handed down to the official scorers, from Bettman, to squeeze in a few extra assists for Sidney?  
If so, I have a fashion tip for you.  
・・・   ↑ 150 ↓

u/chickencheesedonut  
My favorite factoid is that without secondaries, Lecavalier would have beaten Crosby to the Art Ross  
・・・   ↑ 398 ↓

u/airfrancepilot  
Non pay wall article about this here.  
・・・   ↑ 621 ↓

u/Obligatory-Pause  
you da real mvp  
・・・   ↑ 137 ↓

u/airfrancepilot  
Easy to rack up secondaries when you've got Malkin on your wing.  
・・・   ↑ 442 ↓

u/richforyourbloood  
Geno is an absolute beast and it sucks that he doesn't get the mainstream recognition he deserves. I'm hoping Shero at least knows what he's got and gives him the C in a few years.  
・・・   ↑ 513 ↓

u/LordAssworthy  
pittsburgh media too busy jacking it to their cindy fetish to notice the actual monster stud in their midst  
・・・   ↑ 27 ↓

More Comments (8)

u/GrumpyCapsFan  
So many people getting so worked up about some numbers on a screen. The NHL's insistence on judging players by an arbitrary points system has always been ludicrous when any fan with eyes can see that Crosby is barely in the same league as someone like Ovechkin.  
Which player would you rather watch? It's obvious. Alexander Ovechkin plays a crazy physical game against every team he plays. Crosby uses his orientation as an excuse to whine and instigate and never fight back.  
Alexander Ovechkin has more charisma in his right pinkie than Crosby has in his whole body. And yet every hack with a keyboard in Bristol seems to think that they belong in the same conversation. They don't, and time will show that they won't.  
・・・   ↑ 377 ↓

u/Showtime69  
Ovie also has more scoring ability than Crosby will ever dream of. Compare The Goal to The Imitation. One is a goal for all-time, something I'll be telling my brother's kids I saw years from now. The other is someone laying out to make a deflection.  
・・・   ↑ 127 ↓

u/OtherThingsIThink  
And you didn't even mention the whining....  
・・・   ↑ 76 ↓

u/thunderbolts  
lol no one needs to be reminded about the whining  
・・・   ↑ 82 ↓

u/OtherThingsIThink  
That's a lot of words to say you hate omegas  
・・・   ↑ -32 ↓

More Comments (6)

u/drinkstoforget  
Okay, I'm a lifelong Flyers fan but even I can see that people in this sub will twist themselves into knots to avoid giving Crosby even the slightest bit of credit. He's undeniably a good player and he will not be the last guy to benefit from the NHL's dodgy point system. Maybe let's all calm down about this....  
・・・   ↑ 24 ↓

 

 

Dave Molinari @MolinariPGH  
Malkin's thoughts on the "Secondary Sid" theory that's been doing the rounds: "It's stupid. I help Sid score, Sid helps me score. A team needs two great players to win."

crikey karen @Karen_Marriott  
Replying to @MolinariPGH  
Wow, what an insightful breakdown of all that very real statistical analysis. Or not. Look, Malkin is clearly not the sharpest knife in the cupboard and should just stick to hockey. Leave the math to the experts.

Dave and the Goliath @daveandgoliath  
Replying to @MolinariPGH  
Geno categorically refusing to engage with thinly-veiled orientationist trash talking is extremely satisfying to read.

Hockey Chris @couchchristopher  
Replying to @MolinariPGH and 2 others  
yeah no kidding, if I was fucking thickney crosby you can bet that I'd agree with every word out of his mouth as well

 

 

From: Sid [16:32]  
To: Taylor  
I think Mario just tried to give me the talk

From: Taylor [16:35]  
To: Sid  
?!!??!?!

From: Taylor [16:36]  
To: Sid  
pls say this was a talk about how you need to stop letting sam sleep on your bed

From: Sid [16:36]  
To: Taylor  
I wish. I reckon he must have heard how I've been hanging out in the other guys rooms on the road sometimes? Idk really

From: Sid [16:37]  
To: Taylor  
But he did the full birds and the bees

From: Taylor [16:40]  
To: Sid  
lol how old are you???? im cringing from here

From: Sid [16:40]  
To: Taylor  
Then he started going on about my contract and the team and the cup and how you've got to be careful and you can't always trust alphas. I just nodded along but yeah

From: Taylor [16:41]  
To: Sid  
jeez you have the weirdest relationship with your boss. grim grim grim

From: Taylor [16:41]  
To: Sid  
i wont tell dad eh???

From: Sid [16:42]  
To: Taylor  
Fuck no. His head would explode

 

 

The more plausible reason for the pair's unorthodox partnership is less scandalous. "Crosby and Malkin. A one-two punch like no other in the National Hockey League," said an awed Colorado commentator on the duo whom Pittsburgh would nickname "the two-headed monster". Together, the two super-stars could play the lights out against any team in the world. In a sport where team awards are the ultimate indicator of success, it's small wonder that two driven and competitive players would stick with the team that gave them the best chance of a win.

Though perhaps that's too mercenary way of putting it. Given the slightest opportunity, Crosby will practically gush about his teammate. And he smiles while doing so, huge and reflexive and that little bit bashful. It's clear to anyone who'll listen that the affection there is genuine.

I ask what had been his first impression of this young alpha who was expected to steal his number one spot among the Penguins. "Honestly I wasn't really worried about that. I think I was mostly selfishly excited to play with him," Crosby says. He's smiling again. "From day one he was so good and with such a creative mind, really exciting to play with."

For Malkin, the association goes back even further. Malkin has followed Crosby's career since he was a teenager when Malkin's then-agent had told him about another of his young clients, a Sidney Crosby from Canada who was tearing up the record books. They pulled up some highlights. "I said wow," Malkin recalled. "I said how old? He said 14 years old. 14 years old and he was unbelievable."

When Crosby had presented, Malkin had been surprised as the rest of the world. When Crosby had defied all expectations and logic to continue to dominate, Malkin had seen something of an kindred spirit. To a small boy, born into a family of steelworkers on the icy border between Europe and Asia, the glitz and glamour of the NHL seemed very far away. He was acutely aware that there were hundreds of talented boys like him who, for any one of a million reasons, would never make it big. So for Malkin there was something strangely hopeful to be found in watching a boy on the other side of the world achieve the impossible.

Years later, when the pair met for the first time on a drizzly August day outside Mario Lemieux's Pittsburgh residence, perhaps there was something left of that ingrained affection. Just enough warm familiarity to overcome the language barrier, the cultural differences and the world's expectations.

 

 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette @PittsbughPG  
With 67 consecutive games sold out, the new generation of Penguins have set a franchise attendance record https://t.co/UiDAEcbRFp

Sporting News @sportingnews  
Goal ✔  
Assist ✔  
Fight ✔  
Sidney Crosby completes Gordie Howe hat trick against Boston Bruins readsn.com/2P73prW

NHL @NHL  
Ten stitches to the face and @emalkin71geno still makes it look easy.

 

 

**supertrooperduper**

so the whole espn video is amazing (srsly go watch it if you havent) but my absolute favourite bit is the boys going at each other about their television habits

  * sid gets lonely with no roommate so he hangs out with army and flower/talbot and geno a lot
  * army likes reality shows and celebrity stuff
  * especially Ellen. he dances to the opening as part of his pre-game ritual
  * sid is a chronic channel hopper so he's never allowed the remote
  * he really likes Friends and (colby insists) has a crush on Chandler
  * geno watched the first Transformers movie every night for about two weeks
  * he only stopped when talbot told him there was a sequel



**canadiennecanuck**

an important thing to take away from this: roadtrip movie night sleepovers.

Source: supertrooperduper   #thank you espn #so sid has good taste in alphas #and geno has terrible taste in movies #fun to know    
**541 notes**

 

 

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
Rise of the Two-Headed Monster: with Malkin and Crosby leading the team, there's no telling how far the Penguins could go. pens.pe/2ZiIIRp

CBC Sports @cbcsports  
Sidney Crosby had himself a Sidney Crosby kind of night in 1-3 victory over Islanders https://www.cbc.ca/1.7344896

Pittsburgh Penguins Retweeted  
NHL @NHL  
Evgeni Malkin and spin-o-rama goals. Name a more iconic duo. https://bit.ly/2Zg3Yw3

Post Sports @PostSports  
Malkin and the Steel City Line have led the Penguins to second consecutive playoff berth wapo.st/3JKyit4

The Athletic NHL @TheAthleticNHL  
It's a Pennsylvanian steamroll for the Pittsburgh Penguins who are 12-2 in the first three rounds. Are they on course for the cup? https://t.co/0rjWIYIrKA

 

 

So the '07-08 season started with Pittsburgh's double-headed monster at the helm. It's unclear whether the tricky interpersonal dynamics of the season before had been resolved or whether they simply mattered less during a winning streak. My own thoughts are that Crosby had grown up and Recchi had swallowed down his pride. Whatever the case, the stories from the Penguins locker room were finally less about drama, more about victories. And there were a lot of those.

By the time the Christmas break came round, the Penguins were looking dangerous. With goalkeeper Fleury standing on his head, AHL call ups, including Tyler Kennedy and future fan favorite defenseman Kris Letang, blowing up the ice, and a team full of talent like Jordan Staal and Maxime Talbot, the hope was palpable.

Then came the Winter Classic, an annual showcase of the league's most popular teams and players - this year featuring the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. By breakfast time of the day, the parking lots surrounding the Ralph Wilson Stadium were packed with fire pits, barbecues and the odd game of street hockey. By game-time, the stadium had racked up the largest single-game attendance in NHL history. In a nail-biter of a game, Crosby finished the Sabres off in an overtime shootout. It was a good omen.

Unstoppable, the Penguins pressed on to clinch a franchise first Atlantic Division win. For a brief few months they were a steamrolling machine firing on all cylinders, a treat to watch.

The Penguins would end that season within spitting distance of the cup. Their speed and skill carried them to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals, then crumbled in the face of the grit and experience behind their opponents. The Detroit Red Wings won the game in overtime, off an own goal of all things. It was a tough lesson for the Penguins, one they wouldn't forget.

Even today, asking Crosby about that series elicits a grimace. "I remember going back to the locker room at the end of the game and just sitting there. I never wanted to feel like that again."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late again, I have no excuses.
> 
> 1\. I've read a lot of pretty shoddy hockey journalism over the last few months. [This article](https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-09-14-0609140109-story.html) from the Chicago Tribune on Malkin's defection is fantastic. I stole the first paragraph because I'm weak and it reads like poetry.
> 
> 2\. Info on Pens' TV tastes comes from [here](http://www.espn.com/nhl/feature/featureVideo?page=sidneycrosby) and [here](https://theathletic.com/865503/2019/03/13/the-stories-you-dont-know-about-evgeni-malkins-journey-to-1000-points/).
> 
> 3\. NHL is Banking on Wrong Patchy, Bearded Faces of the Game stole its title and tone from [this article](https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/2008/05/nhl-is-banking-on-wrong-patchy-bearded.html).
> 
> 4\. The Reich interview was actually [an Andrew Ference interview](https://www.espn.co.uk/nhl/columns/story?columnist=amber_david&id=3185367), and about Jarome Iginla rather than Malkin. Interviewee is changed because I have way too much respect for Ference to make him look like an arsehole by changing the context of his words like that.
> 
> 5\. I'd never heard of the Secondary Sid theory but apparently it was quite widespread? [Article](http://proicehockey.about.com/b/2006/11/26/when-statistics-lie-hockeys-second-assist.htm) and [blog](http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/boltsfan/2007/03/08/Who_Should_Be_the_NHL_MVP) on the subject.
> 
> I think that's about it. As ever, most of the Tweets and quotes have a real world root so if you're interested, do ask. Also, the number of chapters has been extended to eleven for largely formatting reasons.
> 
> Such a huge thank you to everyone who is still commenting, kudosing, etc!


	6. '08-09 The Stanley Cup

 

 

**ODDS SHARK**  
SPORTS   ODDS   PICKS   BETTING

**Odds on Which Player Will Be Named the Next Captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins**  
James Campbell | Fri, Aug 21 2008, 2:10pm

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a big free agency. The team's off-loading of many of their veteran players, notably losing forward Marian Hossa and alternate captain Ryan Malone, in favour of new contracts for their young guns has many fans in Pittsburgh dreaming of an elusive Stanley Cup. But with so many potential franchise players, which man will serve as the captain for the Penguins in the upcoming season? Oddsmakers are on the case.

"Evgeni Malkin is the -200 favorite to be the next captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins"

BetsOnline has released odds on which Penguin will don the C in the 2008-09 campaign, with Malkin listed as the overwhelming -200 favorite. Brooks Orpik (+300) comes in second behind Geno, and the option of no captain being named (+750) and any other player (+900) are also listed.

The Penguins haven't had a captain since Canadian hero Mario Lemieux retired due to health issues in February of 2006, but their current situation is a problem many teams would love to have. Malkin, who recently turned down a KHL offer which would have made him the highest-paid hockey player in the world, is a superstar at the tender age of 22, while Orpik's cool head and unifying influence has garnered him respect across the league.

Malkin would be the easy choice were it not for his notoriously hot temper and limited English. Given that a captain's primary duties involve effective communication with teammates, referees and the press, those are both significant marks against him. In this area, the American Brooks Orpik has the advantage.

According to teammate Pascal Dupuis, Malkin won't be bothered if the Penguins take these issues into account and decide to go with Orpik. "That's garbage about (Malkin) being upset about the captaincy," Dupuis told TSN. "That's so wrong. We're all team players and aiming to be part of a good team. Whoever puts us closer to the goal. That's what Malkin is concerned about."

Still, don't count Malkin out yet. His new five year contract was a massive pay raise, making him Pittsburgh's highest-paid hockey player by a comfortable margin. Pay is no guarantee of captaincy but it can be solid indicator of who the franchise values.

It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out, especially as the Penguins commence on their redemption arc after crashing out of last year's finals. The team is currently among the top five as favorites for the Stanley Cup and, should it be able to fix its leadership issues, it's hard to argue that optimism is unwarranted.

Who will be the next captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins?

Evgeni Malkin -200  
Brooks Orpik +300  
No captain named +750  
Any other player +900

Odds as of August 21 at BetOnline

 

 

Seth Rorabough @SethRorabough  
Sounds like Evgeni Malkin flew in from Russia for a one-to-one meeting with Michel Therrien. No word on what was discussed.

Kurt H @AntEater3  
Replying to @SethRorabough  
captaincy announcement incoming. id bet anything it was mentioned in contract negotiations as well

Seth Rorabough @SethRorabough  
Replying to @AntEater3  
As I said, no official word on the content of the meeting but Therrien has been open about expecting some form of leadership from Malkin.

The Athletic NHL @TheAthleticNHL  
Private meeting with Michel Therrien sets Evgeni Malkin up for a long future with the franchise https://t.co/qPOTh8zdLx?amp=1

 

 

From: Geno [10:39]  
To: Sid  
im tell them no

From: Geno [10:39]  
To: Sid  
talk to press talk to refs talk to rookies talk talk talk

From: Geno [10:40]  
To: Sid  
not for me

From: Sid [11:01]  
To: Geno  
You had better be fucking with me

From: Sid [11:02]  
To: Geno  
G, we talked about this. There isn't a better option.

From: Geno [11:03]  
To: Sid  
im tell them talk to u

From: Sid [11:05]  
To: Geno  
You are unbelievable

From: Sid [11:05]  
To: Geno  
I have nothing to say to you right now

From: Geno [11:06]  
To: Sid  
sid please ((((

From: Geno [11:09]  
To: Sid  
(((((((((((((

 

 

Bleacher Report @BR_NHL  
So crazy it's true? Did Evgeni Malkin turn down the captaincy of the Pittsburgh Penguins? https://t.co/tENXKExspL

 

 

**To:** Evgeni Malkin (е.малкин@пример.рф)  
**From:** JP Barry (jp@caagency.com)  
**Subject: Contract Negotiation Update**

Evgeni,

Bullano's been in touch. They're wanting you back in the US early for some promotional work/damage control. We'll talk details tomorrow. I don't care how kitschy this shit is, you are going to be there and be excited.

I've smoothed things over with Shero et al but let me make this very clear: whatever good will we bought with the contract, that is gone. I'm good at my job but I'm not a miracle worker. If you want a secure future in Pittsburgh, this needs to be one hell of a season.

I will reiterate again that if there is anything going on, I need to be your first port of call. I honestly don't care what it is, just make sure I find out before anyone else does.

JP

 

 

Pens Inside Scoop @PensInsideScoop  
Therrien on captaincy rumors: "We won't be naming any one captain. That's not something we're interested in. We have a group of players who have worked well in that capacity in the past and we have a lot of faith in that leadership group."

PensBurgh @pensburgh  
The Penguins have decided not to name a captain for the third consecutive season. That's a surprise and not a good one. https://t.co/OAXi55qgQT

 

 

Sportsnet  
**NHL**   |   Signing & Trades   Draft   Standings   Stats   Players

**NHL Power Rankings: rating every team heading into 2008-2009**

Jim Kelley | @jimkSportsnet  
September 15, 2009, 2:01 PM

It's about that point in the summer when the NHL starts coming out of hibernation; a magical time of year, far enough removed from last season to have forgotten the disappointments, close enough to the coming season to be getting excited. So with the dust (mostly) settled on the draft and free agency, we're going to have a stab at preseason power rankings.

There's a temptation to pick a team other than the Detroit Red Wings as the No. 1 just to take a risk and be different. One problem: This Detroit team has no weakness. None. So it stays No. 1 but after the Red Wings, it gets interesting.

Here goes:

(...)

5\. Pittsburgh Penguins  
Previous ranking: 3  
Stanley Cup odds: 20-1

As long as Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are around, this team is elite. But shelling out the big bucks on extensions for Malkin, Marc Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal means that it has downgraded since the playoffs. The loss of Sergei Gonchar and Marian Hossa will be felt keenly, not least in a locker room which now skews very young. Expect the Penguins to make another deep postseason run but stumble due to lack of experience.

 

 

A team that lost in the Cup finals presents an interesting challenge for a GM. So nearly good enough to win, but not quite. Do you take a gamble? Keep the team largely the same and hope that what felled them was bad luck and inexperience. Or do you cut your losses? Shake things up and try again with a fresh batch of skaters.

As it happened, Ray Shero didn't have much choice in the matter; around a dozen cornerstone players were due to enter free agency and the Penguins would have been hard-pressed to retain half of them. That's another consequence of the team playing well: players want to be paid for it. In particular, Malkin and his MVP-worthy season had attracted significant global interest. The newly-formed KHL was impressed enough to make an offer of $12.5 million per year, enough to make him the highest-paid hockey player in the world.

Malkin never even considered it. "I'm want the Cup," he tells me with a smirk. That's no doubt true but it's something of a misdirection. Over a long career, filled with the extreme highs and lows of Penguins hockey, Malkin has never once paid serious thought to moving teams, let alone leagues. Something about Pittsburgh got him good.

So Malkin turned down millions and his country's acclaim for a hometown discount and a contract that would keep him in Pittsburgh for another five years. So too did Fleury, whose similarly cap-friendly deal would tie him up for seven years. "This is where I want to be," the smiling goalie told reporters at the time. "I love this city, the organization, the guys on the team. I think we've got something really good here."

Bright-eyed and sharp-beaked, the young Penguins launched themselves into a new season. But to no avail; the best intentions in the world can't make up for bad hockey. Whatever magic they had found in the 2008 postseason was gone.

 

 

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

OPINION  
**Leaderless Penguins are marching in circles**

Chuck Kelly  
Toronto  
Published December 31, 2008

82 comments ↓ 

Tuesday night marked the latest in a line of low-points for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins at Mellon Arena was the fifth loss in six home games to cap a 5-8-1 December. Just arrived back from the Christmas break, this was supposed to a be a fresh start for the re-invigorated players. It wasn't. Milling around before the game began, the Penguins looked, sounded and felt like a group of guys getting ready to return to a coal pit.

After the game, the team held a players-only meeting. It was a doozy. As the name suggests, the press are not welcome at such events and, even loitering casually nearby, I was able to pick up only unintelligible echoes of the shouting match going on inside. Sadly then, we're fully reliant on the players themselves for details of what went down.

I'm reliably informed that the primary focus, which will surprise no one as it has also been the primary focus of every fan, pundit and reporter with a keyboard, was team chemistry and, more specifically, leadership. After all, the players on this team are the stuff of a GM's wet dreams, surely a good captain with an authoritative presence in the room would never have let them decay to this point.

Coach Michel Therrien was clearly relieved that the meeting had taken place. Not least because he could finally talk about something besides the dismal Bruins loss. "It's about time they called (it). You've got to show some leadership," he said, a curious comment from the man who has so far refused to name a leader. But he seemed hopeful of change; "I'm interested to see what's going to come up from this."

Defenseman Brooks Orpik, visibly wishing that he'd taken that trade to Phoenix, seemed less optimistic. "The attitude is off right now. It's easy to be a good team when you're winning games." He added, "There's a lot of blame being thrown around and it's harder (to play well together) when you're going through rough batches like this."

Here's how you know what a player thinks of his team's chances - when he leads by mentioning what's going wrong rather than how they're going to improve, he doesn't have think much of them.

Another guy beginning to look like he needs a rescue is Jordan Staal, who failed to score for a sixth consecutive game. "We're not working together as a team," he said after the meeting. "We're not supporting each other enough. It's on the ice and on the bench as well ... chemistry is still something we've got to work on."

Ouch. By the low-key standard of hockey players, that's an absolute torching of team morale. What he's saying is that some stars are more interested in personal glory than team unity. Even worse, he's clearly not the only one to think so.

Therrien finished the evening with a telling indictment: "The team concept is the most important thing for any hockey team. The personal agenda on the list of priorities for players should be the last one. Right now, the priority is not at the right place."

That's a very targeted comment. Who exactly he's referring to we may never know but that won't stop us from a bit of educated guesswork. Sidney "diva" Crosby, the controversial super-star who gets more media coverage than Avril Lavigne, springs instantly to mind. So too does the Russian Evgeni Malkin, who is rumoured to have turned down the captaincy earlier this season for being too much like hard work.

This is a young, talented team who should be crushing opposition left, right and center. Instead, watching them play feels like kicking a sick puppy. Maybe the solution is naming a captain who's not afraid to throw his weight around. Maybe the solution is sending Mario Lemieux in to browbeat the ego out of his stars. Whatever the Penguins choose, they must act soon - for the sake of their fans if no one else.

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At the time, social media was quick to blame team chemistry, that age-old catch-all for any inexplicable sporting ills. Perhaps they needed a captain? Or a trade?

What onlookers often overlook is that a team is more than the players. Sure, the players are important, but it's also the coaching staff, the equipment guys, the families and support networks and the hundred other cogs that unobtrusively keep the wheel turning. In 2008, the element identified by Shero as being the root of the problems was Therrien, the head coach. 

Although doubtless a good technical coach, Therrien was infamously hot-tempered and demanding. He held high expectations for his players and woe betide anyone who couldn't rise to meet them. For Crosby, this style had worked well. "He created a lot of expectations within the team and within myself," Crosby explains. "It felt like a vote of confidence, that I could be a success, and that was huge especially when I was starting out."

It makes sense that Crosby, whose career has been dogged by the expectation - even hope - of catastrophic failure, appreciated a coach who wouldn't countenance defeat. For others though, Therrien's coaching, uninterested in sparing feelings or pride, was unbearable.

As the Penguins slipped, so too did Therrien's fragile grip on the hearts and minds of his players. He resorted to tactics more commonly used when working with difficult children, revoking privileges when play didn't improve. Among the first to go was Ted, the universally popular omelette maker. Unsurprisingly, this produced the opposite of the intended effect. By February, Therrien, surrounded by hostile and resentful players, had lost the room.

After one particularly awful game in which the Penguins blew a 2-0 lead to lose 6-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Shero took action. Out went Michel Therrien, in came Dan Bylsma and Ted the omelette guy made a triumphant return.

Bylsma was Therrien's polar opposite. He was a player's coach, eager to be liked and well-placed to bring the aggrieved locker room back together. Uninterested in Therrien's defense-heavy systems, he encouraged his forward stars to play fast and aggressive. And for all that Bylsma's style flew in the face of conventional wisdom, he was exactly what the beleaguered team needed.

The Penguins were inconsistent game to game and iced a defensive corps that seemed permanently blighted by injury, but they clawed their was to the playoffs on the strength of almost unstoppable fire power. The hockey was exhilarating - to watch and to play.

That playoffs run would become an exercise in modern myth-making. From the rivalries to the leadership, from the interminable controversies to the outrageous success, the good and the bad, much of what we think of today as being uniquely Pittsburgh Penguins was forged in the incendiary blaze of the 2009 postseason.

 

 

**Game 3. New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden.**  
Eastern Conference Final (NYR 0 - PIT 2)  
May 23 2009  


[EXCERPT BEGINS]

HUGHSON: Letang looks for a lane and coming up to help out is Dupuis. Slapshot!

SIMPSON: Crosby got whacked in front of the net by Dubinsky, guys, and he's down. He is not getting up.

HUGHSON: Crosby's holding the back of his neck is he? I didn't see it. Just looked down and saw Crosby down. He and Dubinsky have been back and forth at each other this whole series and now this. Crosby is not getting up in a hurry.

The officials are gonna have a chat about the call. They're grouped together right behind Sidney Crosby.

_[muffled stadium sounds]_

SIMPSON: Let's have a look at this.

HUGHSON: It starts in the corner. Puck's not around. Crosby getting to the front of the net. There - there! He scruffed him! Dubinsky scruffed Crosby! Crosby just goes straight down. Dubinsky gives him another shove.

SIMPSON: That's a - that's a gutless play from Dubinsky there.

HUGHSON: Now Crosby's getting some help from Letang to go to the dressing room. Oh my. He's not looking good. Very shaky.

SIMPSON: Yeah.

HUGHSON: Got no legs.

SIMPSON: You can see, Dubinsky got him good. Just a good old-fashioned scruffing so hopefully no damage but Crosby'll be in the locker room for a while. Dubinsky's in the penalty box.

HUGHSON: That's, well... That's not something we've seen before.

[EXCERPT ENDS]

 

 

jaz's hockey place @jazzycole  
disgusting cowardly orientationist behaviour from dubinsky. if he doesnt get a suspension we riot #pens #nhl

Hugo @hugo_cp  
Someone buy Dubinsky a drink!! That was legendary and I'd bet every alpha in the league agrees 

Let's Go Pens @PenguinsWorld  
.@NHLPlayerSafety In any other workplace Dubinsky would be out on his ass. That was not hockey, that was not cross-checking, that was not boarding. That was a sexually motivated attack on the only omega in the league and demands a disciplinary hearing (1/3)

Let's Go Pens @PenguinsWorld  
Replying to @PenguinsWorld  
leading to a lengthy suspension - preferably an expulsion. This should not be a difficult decision to make. Sidney Crosby is one of the most exciting young players in the league: he brings in more viewers, more revenue and more interest than anyone else. Dubinsky is a talentless (2/3)

Let's Go Pens @PenguinsWorld  
Replying to @PenguinsWorld  
relic from a league that no longer exists. For years @NHL has played lip service to their omega fans, promising to make the ice safe for everyone. If Crosby can be assaulted without repercussion, then the NHL will have shown just how meaningless their promises are. (3/3)

 

 

**CBC   |   MENU ▼**  
**SPORTS**   Top Stories   Scores   NHL   Olympic Sports

NHL  
**Crosby comments on Dubinsky's scruffing penalty**

_Image Description: The Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby kneels, holding the back of his neck, on the ice of the RBC Center as an official helps him to his feet._

One has to imagine that the Department of Player Safety will be having a stern talk with Brandon Dubinsky after he took a two minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for scruffing Sidney Crosby.

Although not a traditional rivalry, the intensity during this playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers has been through the roof.

The Penguins came away with a confident 6-2 win, but the story of the game revolved around an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty taken by Brandon Dubinsky for scruffing Sidney Crosby.

Dubinsky got two minutes in the box and Crosby left the ice before returning to the game in the next period.

Since the incident, social media has been awash with calls for the league to suspend Dubinsky. Detractors have pointed out that scruffing, the colloquial term for grasping an omega by the scent glands located at the base of the neck, is considered sexual battery in several states. Others have argued that in a contact sport accidents are inevitable and Crosby's orientation should not garner him special treatment.

Typically the effects of scruffing include extreme lethargy and fatigue, an inability to focus, difficulty making decisions and, in extreme cases, tonic immobility. These will usually persist for no longer than ten minutes. Long term effects are unusual but prolonged and aggressive scruffing has been linked to fertility and mental health issues. In other words, the Penguins were lucky to have Crosby back after only five minutes but he was never in danger of serious injury.

Crosby himself seemed keen to downplay suggestions that any serious damage had been done. When speaking to reporters after the game, he said, "I get that there's concern when that - something like that - happens. It was a shock but, yeah, I'm fine now."

On being asked how he felt about Dubinsky receiving only a two minute penalty, Crosby seemed less forgiving. "I didn't see it coming so I don't know how it looked. I just know it didn't feel like an accident."

Penguins head coach Mike Johnston was similarly unimpressed, commenting that, "The referees, they see it like I do - live. But when you look at it again, it looked bad. That's a targeted attack intended to put a good player out of commission and a two minute penalty for that sets a dangerous precedent."

"There's no secret. I try to play him as hard as I can," Dubinsky told reporters after the game. "That being said, I don't try and do anything dirty. I went to shove him out of the crease and I felt like my hand slipped up to his neck. He's kind of bent over there in front. But again, that's not the kind of player I am. I'm going to play hard, but try and play fair and play in between the whistle. I'm not thinking about his orientation in a situation like that. Like I said, my hand slipped up a little bit, but it wasn't malicious or targeted. I'm not out there to hurt him."

_Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, in which the New York Rangers face elimination at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is scheduled for May 26th at 7pm EST._

 

 

**bangbangletang**

_[Two image gifset: Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang struggling with Brandon Dubinsky in a knot of three referees]_

kuni and tanger trying to rip dubinsky's head off

Source: bangbangletang   #ive been watching this on repeat for like 10 mins #catharsis #pittsburgh penguins   
**388 notes**

 

 

You have one new message. Main menu. To listen to your messages press one. For more op- BEEP.

First new message. Received today at 12.53am.

"Hey, mom. I got your messages, thanks for them and thanks for calming dad down a bit. Thought he was gonna be on the next plane down, eh. All's fine here, bit of a... it's fine. I'm gonna try you again tomorrow. Love you"

To return the call at your normal rate press hash. BEEP.

 

 

NHL Player Safety @NHLPlayerSafety  
New York Rangers' Brandon Dubinsky has been offered an in-person hearing for scruffing Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. Date and time TBD.

Greg the Stud @gregluison  
Replying to @NHLPlayerSafety and 2 others  
I don't see any difference between Dubinsky scruffing Crosby and Crosby punching Valabik in the groin. Except that Dubinsky is getting a hearing and Crosby got two minutes for roughing.

 

 

[ARCHIVE]  
**Coach's Corner with Ron Maclean and Don Cherry**  
Hockey Night in Canada's Coach's Corner with Ron MacLean and Don Cherry is brought to you by Cheetah Power Surge Energy Drink: no caffeine, no crash. Follow us on @CoachsCornerCBC.

[EXCERPT BEGINS 0:02:15]

CHERRY: Now, you know, when Crosby was starting out, I said this is a bad idea, it's not going to go well. Suddenly I was an orientationist and all that stuff. I don't believe, and I really believe this, I don't believe omegas should be playing in the league. I'm telling you, I have seen players get some awful smacks, awful, that I would never want to see an omega, even an omega who's a man, get hit like that.

MACLEAN: Well, can we, I'd like to...

CHERRY: I know, I know, wait a minute. I'm the worst guy in the world. I said that and his father, he emailed (MacLean) what a bad guy I was. The genius, Pat Brisson, his agent, said awful things in the paper. And I was the worst guy in the world but look (at him) now. I was right! And I warned him! He played and now he has to suck it up.

MACLEAN: Well, this is a different type of hit to what we usually see, don't you think?

CHERRY: _[Raising his voice]_ No, no it isn't. Let's put it up. Everybody never showed this one. Look, Dubisnky gives him a shove, like that. Now watch after (that). He goes over and, look, and he gives it to Dubisnky. Watch, like that, a little slash. Now Dubinsky comes up and gives him the scruffing.

CHERRY: But the point I'm trying to make is: he shouldn't go back. He shouldn't go back, the slashing and all that. Look at Gretzky. All you have to do is look at Stamkos; he gets more abuse than anybody. Good players get hits whether they're alpha or omega or anything else. And that's not orientationism. If you keep it up, the league is going to turn against you.

MACLEAN: Grapes, I think we're out of time there. We can continue after the game. Don Cherry on the Coach's Corner on Hockey Night on CBC.

[EXCERPT ENDS]

 

 

Anders Kline @anderskliney  
Love hearing @BizNasty2point0 giving benefit of the doubt to Dubinsky on Chiclets - refreshing to have media on the player's side #playerspodcast

The Atlantic @TheAtlantic  
Hockey's omega problem is showing - and this time it's live on ice. http://on.theatln.tc/TCLmZ69

 

 

From: Flower [17:56]  
To: Sid  
if brooksie makes another joke im going to hit him

From: Flower [17:56]  
To: Sid  
ive always wanted to fight a teammate! it will be fun!!!

From: Sid [18:02]  
To: Flower  
We do still need him. The Rangers aren't going to beat themselves

From: Flower [18:03]  
To: Sid  
maybe. but d men do not need teeth :)

 

 

r/SubredditDrama   
Is sexual assault okay during a hockey game? r/hockey has many civil discussions on the matter  
u/xxxMilesToGo

For context, last night was Game 3 of the Stanley Cup semifinals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers. When the Penguins were 3-0 up, Brandon Dubinsky took drastic action and scruffed Sidney Crosby who had to leave the ice. Dubinsky was given a two minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and Crosby came back for the final third. Dubinsky has a hearing scheduled with the NHL's Dept of Player Safety. (Article)

r/hockey had a lot to say on the subject:

So Crosby can punch Valabik multiple times in the nuts and that's two minutes but the moment someone scruffs Crosby it's suspension time. The double standard is alarming.

Fucking Olympic class dive there. That kind of scruffing requires a firm grip and some dexterity in the fingers, no way could Dubinsky scruff him through hockey gloves

At this point I don't even care. I'm so fatigued from all of this Crosby drama. This used to be a hockey sub

Oh my fuck. I didn't think I could hate the bitch any more but then I see a close-up of that abortion of a beard he is trying to grow. Disgusting.

Yep that's an erection

Acting like scruffing is the same as sexual assault or rape only serves to delegitimize the pain of real rape victims. Witch hunts like this help no one.

TLDR: y i k e s  
Share   320 Comments   ・・・   ↑ 1.3k ↓ 

u/takesittoofar  
I am honestly concerned for Crosby's health at this point. The amount of abuse, manhandling, dirty hits, slashes, hard boardings he takes every single game is insane. At least when it goes mainstream like this the NHL can't just sweep it under the rug.  
・・・   ↑ 598 ↓

u/HumanAMA  
Oh the naivety. The NHL can absolutely sweep it under the rug.  
・・・   ↑ 944 ↓

u/physicspsychic  
Then people complain that he whines. Yes? If you had 6''0 monsters trying to decapitate you on a nightly basis, you'd probably do your fair share of whining too.  
・・・   ↑ 307 ↓

u/thistlehair  
and if he turns around and slashes back then hes a dirty player who gets what he deserves. damned if you do, damned if you don't ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
・・・   ↑ 46 ↓

More Comments (15)

u/jonnystrange  
Wow, these users are passionate  
・・・   ↑ 721 ↓

u/sir_norrel  
Never underestimate how passionate men on the internet will get about minimizing sexual assault  
・・・   ↑ 693 ↓

u/howsladypole  
Or about defending their sports teams  
・・・   ↑ 81 ↓

u/thistlehair  
But who else will stand for my favorite millionaire?  
・・・   ↑ 100 ↓

u/RainbowRoad  
Sports subs just have no sense of perspective  
・・・   ↑ 215 ↓

u/grizzzler  
So many "experts" in scruffing in that thread. Yeah, it would be tricky to scruff someone through thick gloves but they're literally designed for dexterity. Definitely possible  
・・・   ↑ 106 ↓

u/losthope  
my favorite is the alpha explaining exactly why scruffing is better than a punch to the balls  
・・・   ↑ 44 ↓

u/tryer423  
As someone who has experienced both, there are similarities. Punch to the balls definitely hurts more, but scruffing is very sexually threatening. Neither is any fun but only one can be prosecuted as a sex crime  
・・・   ↑ 52 ↓

More Comments (3)

u/iparkpoorly  
"On the replay it looks bad but non-players don't understand that this is a really fast game. It's very easy to try and grab someone's jersey and get their arm or neck or whatever. I completely believe Dubinsky when he says it was an unlucky accident"  
I don't know man sounds like total fucking rubbish to me  
・・・   ↑ 328 ↓

u/Nazgul098  
I don't even like hockey but I would sell my soul to see these Penguin guys win after that  
・・・   ↑ 35 ↓

u/truebluesky  
They did at least go on to win this game 6-2  
・・・   ↑ 21 ↓

 

 

USA TODAY Sports @usatodaysports  
No one is to blame for Crosby's scruffing incident, explains @PaulWeddle. All change comes with growing pains and the NHL is in the midst of the biggest cultural change in its history. https://t.co/lkqsqfoEk7

NHL Player Safety @NHLPlayerSafety  
New York Rangers' Brandon Dubinsky has been suspended for one game for Illegal Unsportsmanlike Conduct towards Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. https://t.co/CVEqVANQ7a

 

 

For Crosby, the famous scruffing barely figures in his recollection of the playoffs. His strongest recall of the incident involves fielding phone calls from his very worried parents and a homicidal younger sister. "I think I was mostly surprised at how strong the reaction was," he says. "I wouldn't say I felt bad for Dubinsky but he didn't do anything that was out of line with what other guys had tried before."

Despite my pressing, Crosby refuses to elaborate on what else guys had tried, perhaps at less high-profile games. Nor is he alone in dismissing the scruffing as just one of many playoff hits that cross the line. Only two days after the incident, Detroit's Nicklas Kronwall took out a Chicago player and the scruffing story was relegated to YouTube compilations of 'Weird NHL Penalties'. Besides, the Penguins had other, less contentious ways to keep themselves and Crosby front and centre of the NHL conversation.

Game 3 of that year's series against the Washington Capitals saw the ignition of an era-defining rivalry. In the kind of electrifying, historic game that lucky viewers tell their grandkids about, Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby scored three goals apiece, dueling hat tricks. A rivalry which had previously been constructed from attention-grabbing headlines and out-of-context quotes exploded onto the hockey world and secured the players their position as the two faces of the league.

Off ice, Crosby was no less central a figure. Predictably, public conversation about the Penguins' formal leadership situation had revolved largely around his alpha teammates, with Malkin featuring prominently. Most reporters and fans were quick to say that, of course, there was no reason that the right omega could not be captain, Sidney Crosby just wasn't the right omega. "He's not likable is what it comes down to," said Rudy Smith on CBC Sports, "and the captaincy is a PR role. You've got to be liked, you've got to be respected by your team, the press, the refs."

What Smith and so many other commentators missed was that Crosby had been filling the role of captain since Lemieux left. A much-referenced players' poll from early in 2009 voted Crosby as overwhelmingly the league's "biggest complainer". Make of that what you will, but the whole league could recognise that it was Crosby, not Malkin or Orpik or Staal, doing the majority of the communicating with the referees. It was the same story with the media. After every game, bad or good, Crosby was always last in the locker room, answering question after question until the scrum of reporters had dispersed.

There are as many styles of leadership as there are leaders: captains who are always first off the bench in a fight; captains who give rousing locker room speeches; captains who lead by example. Crosby's leadership isn't flashy. "He's good at reading people and knows when people need a pick-me-up or when he needs to give them a push," says ex-teammate Pascal Dupuis. "Whether you're down or you've had a bad game or anything like that, he comes over and makes sure he's there for you."

Skewing towards emotional intelligence and quiet communication, Crosby's leadership doesn't lend itself well to media adulation; it's about people, not performances but it wins hearts, minds and hockey games. In 2009, it led to the Stanley Cup Finals.

 

 

Kyle Scott @CrossingBroad  
From Mario's Pool Boy to Cindyrella: Ranking the playoffs' best fan signs https://t.co/KlSG1BiyLm?amp=1

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
With everything on the line, this is the lineup we're expecting to bring for Game 7. atnhl.com/2X7kFb5 #LetsGoPens

Post Sports @PostSports  
Wings' discipline gives them the edge over the Penguins in Game 7 of Stanley Cup finals https://wapo.st/2m3jIjC

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
Final gameday skate. #LetsGoPens #Game7

 

 

**canadiennecanuck**

I know I say it a lot but listen I would die for every single last one of my baby bird boys

Source: canadiennecanuck   #pens lb #stop zooming in on their little faces #it does my heart no good #no good i tell you   
**22 notes**

 

 

**flowering29**

1-1 score got me hyperventilating

Source: flowering29   #idgaf about a home crowd #just do it boys im begging you #pens lb   
**124 notes**

 

 

**staalsquared**

**TALBOT SCORED AGAIN**  
PENS ARE UP 2-1

Source: staalsquared   #pens lb #that man is a god   
**30 notes**

 

 

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
@Max25talbot IS TODAY'S HERO! #LetsGoPens

Pittsburgh Penguins Retweeted  
NHL @NHL  
Kunitz and Talbot. Raising the roof.

US: http://bit.ly/2HGdNsL @nbc  
CA: http://sprtsnt.ca/SNNOW-NHL @Sportsnet

 

 

**jampacked**

**anonymous** asked:  
I aged 20 years during that replay

Longest minute of my life. I'm actually going grey over here

Source: jampacked   #pens lb #hockey is dangerous yall   
**3 notes**

 

 

**canadiennecanuck**

taylor crosby watching through her fingers is such a mood

Source: canadiennecanuck   #pens lb #got the whole fam blessing us with their presence   
**65 notes**

 

 

**Game 7. Detroit Red Wings vs Pittsburgh Penguins at Joe Louis Arena.**  
Stanley Cup Finals (DET 3 - PIT 3)  
June 12 2009  


[EXCERPT BEGINS]

DK: Zetterberg and Staal to go for the face-off with six and a half seconds to go.

_[whistle blows]_ Off the tie-up, it comes back to the point, Rafalski with a shot. Knocked down! They go scrambling. Lidstrom with a shot! Another shot and fought off by Fleury!

_[horn]_

They've done it! The Penguins have done it! The Pittsburgh Penguins have won the Stanley Cup!

_[incomprehensible screams of celebration]_

[EXCERPT ENDS]

 

 

Pittsburgh Penguins Retweeted  
NHL @NHL  
The @penguins are your 2009 #StanleyCup champions  


ESPN @espn  
THAT STANLEY CUP FEELING 🏆 🏆 🏆  


 

 

**stilltheman**

THEY FUCKIGN DID IT!!!! THYE DIDIT!!!

Source: stilltheman   #pens lb   
**8 notes**

 

 

NHL @NHL  
How did he keep that out?! 😲  
Was this unreal stop by Marc Andre Fleury the Save of the Year?  #NHLFanChoice 

ESPN @espn  
Fleury robs Wings in final seconds to secure #StanleyCup for the Pittsburgh Penguins.  


NHL @NHL  
Sidney Crosby, history maker. #StanleyCup 

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
Your Conn Smythe Trophy Winner - EVGENI MALKIN! #LetsGoPens 

 

 

**genomalkin**

_[four image gifset: Bettman passes the Stanley Cup to a grinning Sidney Crosby who raises it above his head. He skates over to a group of wildly celebrating teammates.]_

Your 2009 Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins

**speedysid**

you know who traditionally lifts the cup first??? the captain.  
sid lifted the cup first  
**sid lifted the cup first**  
_**sid lifted the cup first**_

Source: genomalkin   #this is everything i ever wanted!!!!!!! #and i cant stop sobbing!!!!!! #pens #sidney crosby #:)))))))))))))   
**1,203 notes**

 

 

The Onion @TheOnion  
Sidney Crosby Gets To Third Base With Stanley Cup https://trib.al/4nvyfXM

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
Who's ready to party? See you tomorrow at 11:00AM for the 2009 #StanleyCup Championship Parade. Details: pens.pe/2yt89ES

Deadspin @Deadspin  
Sidney Crosby's Face Says It All http://deadsp.in/IzcPRQs

CBC Sports @cbcsports  
Pittsburgh Penguins complete improbable journey to the Stanley Cup https://www.cbc.ca/1.5301756

 

 

Ticket: #1409345 - NBC broadcasts profane content  
**Date:** 12/06/2009 11:49:59 PM  
**City/State/Zip:** Johnstown, Pennsylvania 15901  
**Company Complaining About:** TN

**Description:**  


NBC allowed hockey players and staff to scream the word "F!@#", clearly audible and loudly, at least 10 times during prime time coverage of the Stanley Cup Presentation. I was absolutely horrified by hearing this terrible word from professionals. This is not acceptable and many children are watching. My granddaughters heard it and continued happily round the house saying "F!@#" for over an hour. This is a very poor example for young omegas to hear. I am pissed and I want to file a lawsuit.

 

 

**eightysevens**

good morning everyone, especially omega stanley cup champion sidney crosby

Source: eightysevens   #pittsburgh penguins #sidney crosby has a stanley cup   
**524 notes**

 

 

Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins  
It wasn't a dream.

The New York Times @nytimes  
As the Pittsburgh Penguins claim the Stanley Cup, Sidney Crosby makes sporting history. https://nyti.ms/2ocsEnt

CBC Sports@cbcsports  
Sidney Crosby not apologizing for handshake snub: "I had no intention of trying to skip guys" https://www.cbc.ca/1.7021543

The Guardian @guardian  
"A league-wide embarrassment": omega Sidney Crosby is a Stanley Cup Champion so let's fact-check some of the claims made at his draft. https://t.co/2BpWWmRm7h?amp=1

 

 

At the end of that series, when Sidney Crosby took the Cup from Gary Bettman, he was watched on 8.56 million screens across Canada, America and Europe. Those were the highest audience numbers since 1971, a record that remains unbeaten in the modern NHL. Next morning, Crosby and the Cup were front page of newspapers across the continent. But he didn't care about any of that; everyone who mattered was right there in the stadium.

Troy and Trina had taken the day off work, Taylor was given special dispensation to skip school and the little family had made the long journey down to Detroit. Too nervous even to go for a customary game time burger, they had watched the game through spread fingers and bitten nails. By the time Sid hoisted the Cup above his head, Troy and Taylor were both crying.

Trina wasn't. "I just couldn't believe it was happening," she explains. "I used to watch him when he was so small, maybe five or six. He'd make a really good shot and pretend like he'd won the Cup. I'd cheer and he'd be so happy. After he presented, I didn't think it would ever happen. Troy was always convinced that, if anyone could do it, Sid could but I just... It sounds awful but I really didn't think the opportunity was there for him."

And did it live up to Crosby's childhood fantasies? "It was everything I dreamed of. An amazing feeling." Guys always smile when they talk about their Cups, Crosby is no exception - his grin near splits his face.

The Penguins celebrated that night what would be the first of weeks worth of revelry. They were young, they were unbeatable and there was so much yet to come.

 

 

 

**SLATE**

SPORTS  
**Is Sidney Crosby doing omegas more harm than good?**

BY **MIRIAM DRYDEN**  
JULY 31, 2009 • 7.04PM  


This morning, I flicked on ESPN to be greeted by the NHL's Gary Bettman. Yes, yes, boo! You'll be pleased to know that everyone's favorite commissioner was in fine form, boasting first of the unprecedentedly high ratings for this year's playoffs finals and then of his expectation of a further, post-Olympics boost. So far so dull and I was on the cusp of switching to the tennis when something he said caught my attention.

You see, Bettman is convinced that the NHL is a beacon of tolerance and forward-thinking. "We are the most diverse of all the sports, both in terms of where our players come from and who they are," he told one reporter. "I think we generally get very positive reviews for all the efforts that we've made on being inclusive and diverse." That's an interesting take given that the NHL has no out LGBT players and is by far the whitest of the four major American sports leagues. Funnily enough, demographically it also has the whitest (over 95%) and richest (average yearly income of $104k) fanbase. Make of that what you will.

What Bettman was probably referring to was the NHL's relative success at attracting omega fans, with hockey beating out both basketball and baseball in this department. He noted with pride that this week is the fourth anniversary of the Pittsburgh Penguins drafting the now Stanley Cup-winning Sidney Crosby, a cross-oriented man, as he reminded the reporter in case she had possibly forgotten. What Bettman failed to mention was that four years have passed and Sidney remains the only omega in the NHL.

If you're at all active in liberationist circles you may have seen one weird fact making the rounds: a working group with one omega on it is less likely to hire an omega than a working group with no omegas on it. Let that sink in. Some bizarre factor, call it tokenism or fear or plain old bitchiness, means that the first omega to make it often actively makes it harder for the second omega.

Now might be a good moment to mention Canadian goalkeeper Manon Rheaume. In 1992 she signed a contract with Tampa Bay Lightning to become the first omega and woman to play in the NHL. It was lauded as a ground-breaking moment for women's hockey but twenty years later we know that it was more significant for pub trivia nights than revolutionary progress. She was the first and last.

Of course, Sidney has been in the NHL for only four years of what will hopefully be a long and successful career and it is far too early to judge his legacy. But we can see its foundations.

At the moment, there is little to suggest that Sidney will leave more of an impact than Rheaume. Far from being a symbol of progress, he has become yet another weapon used in the constant bludgeoning of minorities in sports. He is proof, Bettman tells us, that hockey is the most inclusive of American sports. If Sidney can make it, surely anyone with enough talent can. Forget the fact that women's hockey has a dearth of funding, coaches, equipment and even ice. Forget the racist abuse thrown at Timbits games. Forget the fact that Crosby has the kind of exceptional, mind-boggling talent that happens once in a generation. If this white male omega can make it then so can you, Bettman tells us. It's a lie.

Seriously, is it too much to ask that our progressive heroes force progress? An omega that opens the game to other omegas. Is it really that wild an idea?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In celebration of hockey finally being back!
> 
> 1\. Info and quotes regarding the Pens' players only meeting from [here](https://archive.fo/20120907032409/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_605108.html?source=rss&feed=3). Style stolen from that hilariously bad [McDavid article](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-connor-mcdavid-does-not-look-sound-or-feel-like-a-man-who-enjoys-his/).
> 
> 2\. The Dubinsky scruffing incident is obviously entirely fictional! I know nothing to suggest that he has ever been involved in any sort of sexual misconduct. 2009 Eastern Conference Final was actually between Canes and Pens. I tried to find a player on the Canes team who had a history of dirty play/misconduct but (amazingly!) nothing so I just swapped them out for the Rangers. Sorry to Canes fans. The CBC report is based on [this](https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sidney-crosby-comments-on-brandon-dubinskys-cross-check-to-neck/).
> 
> 3\. Regarding the Slate article: In 2014, [Bettman](https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2014/12/05/gary-bettman-on-sexism-in-hockey-we-are-the-most-diverse-of-all-the-sports/) did claim that hockey is the most diverse of all sports; The hockey fanbase demographic stats are from [2017](http://demographicpartitions.org/demographics-of-sports-fans-u-s/) and [2019](https://www.theshelf.com/the-blog/sports-viewership). I couldn't easily find anything older but I'm willing to bet things would have been considerably worse in 2009; Manon Rheaume's comments in [this interview](https://www.si.com/nhl/video/2016/05/09/manon-rheaume-contract-tampa-bay-lightning-meant-women) are brief but suggest, I think, that she didn't expect to be the first and last. I don't want to undermine at all how awesome she is, this is just a hot take in an AU; The idea that a group with one woman is less likely to hire another comes from [this study](http://gap.hks.harvard.edu/female-tokens-high-prestige-work-groups-catalysts-or-inhibitors-group-diversification).
> 
> As ever, thanks so much for the feedback - it's all cherished. Up next is the Vancouver Olympics.


	7. '09-10: Vancouver Olympics

  

  

Amid the triumph of the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby era, the 2009-10 season is not one that has attracted much attention. No doubt that's in part due to how nail-bitingly close state rivals the Philadelphia Flyers came to a Stanley Cup win - any true Penguins fan's nightmare scenario. But equally the Penguins were missing their spark.

The defending champions seemed to sleepwalk through the season. There were no great embarrassments but nor were there any triumphs, just a young team who couldn't quite get themselves together. The post-season found the Penguins in a fourth-place playoffs berth which quickly became a respectable second round ejection by a strong Montreal Canadiens side. All in all, a perfectly middling performance.

Of course, there's another reason that the 2009-2010 NHL season slipped so quickly out of public consciousness.

  

  

National Post @nationalpost  
Eleven months from the opening ceremonies, Olympic buzz in Vancouver is already palpable https://t.co/dzcGxwu2Iq

Vancouver 2010 @VancouverOlympics  
Watched by 2,000 viewers, the countdown clock ticked down to six months https://t.co/O2xSVQq1V4?amp=1

The Globe and Mail @globeandmail  
$110 million project Own The Podium is aiming for 30-plus Olympic medals. Is this realistic? @GlobeDebate http://dlvr.it/RM3VYZ

  

  

There's something special the Olympic Games. Maybe it's that feeling of togetherness when, for once, the whole country can pull together and support the same thing. Maybe it's that wild thrill of striking up conversation with the guy next to you on the bus because you're both glued to the skiing. Maybe it's the dream of a great equalizer, of origins, race and class paling next to pure athletic skill.

It's a fantasy, of course. Sports are no less political, nepotistic and complicated than any other facet of life. But for a few glorious weeks we can pretend otherwise.

For the host nation, the intoxication is magnified tenfold and Canada was no exception. It is hard to convey just how Canadian were those Winter Games. Vancouver was a city painted in red and white, partying long and loud every night, flooding venues with noise and colour. Over 25,000 local volunteers gave up sleep and salary to complete the most menial of tasks - printing out stat sheets for cranky journalists and clearing parking lots of snow - all for the thrill of being a small part of the most exciting event of the decade.

And if the run-up to the Games was a thrill for spectators, for Olympic hopefuls it was something else entirely.

  

  

CBC Sports @cbcsports  
Hockey Canada unveils pre-Olympic camp roster https://buff.ly/39nYEYH

The Hockey News @TheHockeyNews  
Some unexpected names at 2010 Canadian Olympic tryout camp https://bit.ly/2Q25agb

  

  

In July of 2009, a roster of 46 players, Crosby among them, had been invited to what amounted to Team Canada's tryout camp. Six months later, less than half of those present would be at the Olympics.

Team manager and hockey legend Steve Yzerman knew that every player in the group was phenomenally talented. Choosing a team would need to come come down to more than skill. "The right guy may be someone whose numbers are lower, and that was the case a few times for us," he told Charlies Gillis of _Maclean's_. "A lot more goes into being a good player than just putting up points."

International experience, coachability, chemistry with potential linemates; there's a list as long as my arm of the alternative attributes that are so valued by coaching staff. Crosby probably knows it by heart. Despite consistently performing at the highest level, in 2010 he was still yet to compete internationally.

"It just hadn't happened," Crosby shrugs. "There were a lot of factors." That's a generous explanation.

The reality was that Crosby had been caught in the kind of vicious circle that will be so familiar to younger readers. International competition requires international experience which has to be gained at international competition. Never competing at a national level meant never developing relationships with other national-level players so no chemistry with linemates. No familiarity with coaches forced them to rely on first impressions and hearsay. As I said, a vicious cycle, one that had kept Hockey Canada away for years.

  

  

From: Taylor [14:33]  
To: Sid  
any news????

From: Sid [14:52]  
To: Taylor  
No. I probably won't know for a few weeks yet.

  

  

From: Taylor [10:39]  
To: Sid  
news????

From: Sid [11:01]  
To: Taylor  
Not yet

  

  

CTV Olympics @CTVOlympics  
Pierre's Picks for Team Canada - 50 Days Out https://t.co/piFWqtylO1

Rockwell @oldrockroad  
Replying to @CTVOlympics and @PierreMcguireNBC  
Pierre, please, your Crosby boner is showing 

Hulk's Big Sister @hulkingout  
Replying to @CTVOlympics  
Not much to complain about here. Would like to see Iginla a bit higher but otherwise reasonable

Adam Finley @adam15  
Replying to @CTVOlympics  
Only a fucking moron would put flower as goalie and leave neal off the list. lucky yzerman isnt an idiot

  

  

From: Taylor [15:40]  
To: Sid  
gimme news

From: Sid [15:42]  
To: Taylor  
I'm going to start ignoring your messages

From: Taylor [15:42]  
To: Sid  
meanie :(

  

  

From: Taylor [16:09]  
To: Sid  
news?

  

  

@YahooSports Retweeted  
Greg Wyshynski @wyshynski  
But what about Keith? And Phaneuf? Let's debate Pierre McGuire's Team Canada selection https://t.co/5hl2fhSDjz

  

  

From: Taylor [11:27]  
To: Sid  
ya know if they dont take you this time theyre fucking morons and karma will get them

  

  

From: Taylor [13:31]  
To: Sid  
newwwssss

From: Sid [14:07]  
To: Taylor  
I'm calling home :)

  

  

No one forgets where they are when they get the call - the official notification that they will play for Team Canada at the Olympics.

Jonathan Toews' mother got the call on his spare cellphone and ran into his room to tell him. Brent Seabrook answered his with an expletive - "but it was an expletive of excitement," he explained.

"I was in a team meeting when I got the call," smiles Crosby. "I heard it later on voicemail." He took the news with customary down-to-earth charm. "I was pretty calm. My parents and sister were a lot more excited than I was. The nerves didn't really kick in for a while."

A few days later, Yzerman would put an end to the months of speculation and debate held across the country's media and coffee shops. In front of 4,000 giddy supporters and a national television audience, he and his management team read off the names of the 23 players chosen to represent Canada.

The countdown had begun.

  

  

** Winter Olympics Preview: Breaking down the Team Canada roster **  
By Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun  
Dec 30, 2009

After months of anticipation, the 2010 Canadian Olympic's men team was unveiled Wednesday and here is our breakdown of the selections and omissions.

Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins  
**Burnside:** Bergeron's solid two-way play and ability to play either center or wing paved the way for his inclusion. He is the only player named to the team who was not at the summer orientation camp in Calgary and has some history with Ryan Getzlaf, playing alongside him at a World Junior Championship during the NHL lockout. 

**LeBrun:** One of the real roster surprises, but a well-deserved nomination. Considering the relationship with Getzlaf, he may be getting a look on that second line.

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins  
**Burnside:** There was some debate about how Crosby would manage on an entirely unfamiliar team but few have doubted his talent. He provides great speed and skill down the middle and you can imagine he will start out with Rick Nash on his wing.

**LeBrun:** Some surprise chemistry with Nash at the orientation camp may have assured Crosby the chance to add to his trophy cupboard.

Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks  
**Burnside:** Getzlaf has picked up the pace after....

  

  

Maclean's Magazine @macleans  
Hockey great Steve Yzerman on how to choose an Olympic team, who's the pick as captain and how scoring stats can fool you https://t.co/dzcRowd2Iq

Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune  
Loonies vs Toonies: Blending in with the locals at Vancouver 2010 https://trib.al/VxnqZG5

  

  

Bleacher Report  
**VANCOUVER WINTER OLYMPICS 2010**

**The 10 Hottest Omegas of the 2010 Winter Olympics ******

Even if the games themselves prove to be lackluster, we'll still have something to keep our eyes on.

**Scott Whitbroke**  
FEBRUARY 11, 2010 at 11:35 PM  
___  
You know the best thing about athletes? They are almost always at the peak of human fitness. The Winter Olympics in particular are even hotter than the Summer Olympics. I think it's because the sports are riskier and are therefore sexier. Have you seen those omega skeleton medallists? If they're willing to take their bodies to such an extreme edge in public, what must they do when they're behind closed doors?

Now that Vancouver is packed full of nubile young things and the world is armed with the power of social media (so we don't have to wonder what's underneath all the heavy suits), let's talk about the hottest omegas raising the temperatures in the Olympic village.

10\. Maria Heiss  
      Age: 17  
      Sport: Curling  
At only age 17, this blonde bombshell will be the youngest curler in Vancouver and the lead for the German women's team - consider us impressed! Last year she won big at the European World Championships and will no doubt be hoping to continue the winning streak. Finding a picture of this omega without her customary intense scowl is near impossible but we think there's something very hot about that kind of focused dedication to your sport. Maybe a gold medal will draw out a smile.

9\. Sidney Crosby  
      Age: 22  
      Sport: Ice Hockey  
If you like your omegas beat to hell, look no further than Canadian golden boy Sidney Crosby. Although this year marks Sid's Olympic debut, he's already made quite the name for himself as the first omega to play in the NHL. With huge eyes, huge lips and a huge hockey ass, he's a regular fixture on the covers of ESPN and Sports Illustrated - for which we're very grateful! Since he gets thrown around by alphas for a living, we're willing to bet he's pretty adventurous in the bedroom too.

  

  

BBC Sport @BBCSport  
Canada's being very un-Canadian. This time, they want to win. https://bbc.in/368sNtb

Allure @Allure_magazine  
Sidney Crosby's cheeky curls are sending fans into a frenzy - we've never seen his hair like this before http://in.allure.com/eaMc4js

The Wall Street Journal @WSJ  
Maple Leaves and Kermode Bears: Canada Redefines Itself in Olympic Opening Ceremony https://on.wsj.com/2sgutSF

  

  

**TEAM CANADA** | RESULTS & SCHEDULE | MEDALS | ATHLETES | NATIONS | NEWS  
HOCKEY

**All eyes on Team Canada's first practice**

By Jordan Dahutschek  
Posted Monday, February 15, 2010 8:10 PM ET

VANCOUVER - As the players passed through the mixed zone on the way to the dressing rooms, there was a sense that the players and coaches couldn't wait to get started - competing in what may be the NHL's final Olympic outing.

"That's what you want as athlete - for people to watch and enjoy and be into it," said assistant captain Jarome Iginla, who will go into hostile territory for the tournament - Vancouver is a chief rival of his NHL team, the Calgary Flames.

The first official practice of the tournament was held at Canada Hockey Place at 4.30 pm sharp: Team Canada's only preparation before Tuesday's opener against Norway. As you'd expect in such a tight time frame, the pace was exceptional although Russia, which preceded Canada onto the ice, conducted its practice in hyper-drive as well. It was hard not to imagine the charm of a gold-medal final between the two powerhouses later in the tournament.

A quintet of Russian players, including Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins' teammate Evgeni Malkin, watched the Canadian practice from the corridors, leading into the dressing rooms. Malkin even wandered over to the bench to exchange words and a gentle head bump with Crosby - a bold move now that patriotic rivalries are in full force.

"He asked me what line I was on," said Crosby, who is set to compete in his first international tournament. The plan is for Crosby to play on the first line with Rick Nash and Eric Staal. The other units have featured Jonathan Toews between...

  

  

For all the patriotic fervor, the Vancouver Olympics started with a whimper and slid quickly into a drawn out scream. An unseasonably warm winter left Vancouver short of snow; then security came into question when a man with clumsily faked credentials was arrested trying to approach US vice-president Joe Biden; street protests demanded last minute changes to the torch relay; a collapsed barricade injured 19 people; poor planning and torrential rain necessitated refunding 20,000 snowboarding tickets; worst of all was the tragic accidental death of luger Nodar Kumarita which cast a dark cloud over the proceedings.

By the end of Day 11, there was a pervasive sense that the Canadian dream of podium ownership - on a podium they paid for - was slipping away. The United States had twenty-four medals, to Canada's nine. "Clearly, hats off to the Americans," said frazzled Canadian Olympic Committee CEO Chris Rudge. "They are rather running away with things right now."

Unlucky disqualifications, skiing crashes and an absurd number of fourth- or fifth-place finishes meant that, only halfway through the games, the Own The Podium program was forced to admit that Canada was out of the running for most total medals.

If any victory were to be found, it would be in the final week.

  

  

The Guardian @guardian  
Vancouver Games continue downhill slide from disaster to calamity. Are these the worst in Olympic history? https://t.co/6pU0NPTnCf

  

  

**The Independent**  
Politics   Voices   **Sport**   Culture   More ↓ 

**'Sexpots and bitches' jibe at omega hockey stars**

Zoe Abelman | Fri, 20 February 2010

Canadian women's hockey captain Hayley Wickenheiser hit back at former NHL player Wayne Foster, after he called cross-oriented hockey player Sidney Crosby "a bitch" and two Canadian women's players "sexpots". Foster made the comments during a radio interview, just before being voted on to the NHLPA board as a player's representative at the weekend.

The 31-year-old, who retired from the Nashville Predators at the end of the 2008-09 season, said he hoped Team America would make Crosby cry in the upcoming Olympics preliminary rounds, and described Canadian women's hockey players Haley Irwin and Tessa Bonhomme as "sexpots".

According to _The Daily Telegraph_ , Foster said of Crosby: "Hate is a very strong word - I just despise him to the maximum level just below hate.... If he's not crying by the time he gets off the ice then the American boys did not do their jobs."

He went on to comment on the women's teams. Canadian Haley Irwin and Tessa Bonhomme are "sexpots". Nineteen year old Marie-Philip Poulin is "a well-developed young lady." American captain Natalie Darwitz, he said, "has a nice ass but her face is a five."

Wickenheiser said Foster's comments were inappropriate. "Being pro-omegas' rights, I think we've come further than to be referred to like this," she said. "All those omegas are great players. For anyone to say that about them is not professional. It's just totally uncalled for."

Sidney Crosby, one of the NHL's young stars, said Foster's comments were just a joke that had backfired. "I know his sense of humor a bit. I know he kind of talks like that. So I don't mind," Crosby said. "I know Foster. He's a good guy. I heard he apologised for it. I think it's just you say something and you don't really mean it. It happens."

The NHLPA said it "cannot condone any form of intolerance", describing Foster's comments as "thoughtless". Foster has since apologised for any offence caused.

COMMENTS (186)

  

  

The Telegraph @Telegraph  
Male commentators' orientationist comments are ruining these Olympics for me, writes Zoe Strimpel http://ow.ly/vVJp30q5rXt

New York Daily News @NYDailyNews  
Ex-NHL player Wayne Foster slammed for 'sexpot' comments https://trib.al/v7As4MW

  

  

**lesbiankunitz**

"I don't mind. I know Foster. He's a good guy. I heard he apologised for it. I think it's just you say something and you don't really mean it. It happens." - Sidney Crosby

something I haven't seen discussed in the whole Foster thing is how Sid responded. before anyone jumps down my throat or tells me to go suck Ovie's dick (what happened last time I criticized Sid), I'm a pens fan, I'm an omega and I don't think Sid needs to be cancelled. but the way he responded to this was not good

by dismissing the comments as a joke he undermines what Hayley Wickenheiser is saying. he legitimises the people saying 'oh its just a joke, some omegas are too sensitive'. he is literally making an excuses for the next alpha to say that garbage. Sid has had a _very_ tough time of it in the nhl. but so has Wick, so have all the women. the state of women's hockey is horrendous, it's constantly belittled and mocked and they don't get paid millions to play the game they love. they get the orientationist abuse without the payoff

I love Sid. I love what he means to hockey. but he has a lot of influence and he should not be immune from criticism when he actively undermines the women's game

**playinghooky**

To the people saying that hockey players don't talk about social issues (like women's hockey is an unrelated social issue?), so Crosby shouldn't have to be the exception. I'll remind you that Habs rookie PK Subban who is a black alpha and faces constant racial abuse, who is a _rookie_ and has zero power in the league, talked last month about racist and orientationist (his little brother is cross-oriented) abuse in hockey.

I am not saying that Crosby must speak out. God knows he gets enough abuse already. But don't pretend like there aren't male hockey players who vocally use their privilege. Crosby just isn't one of them.

Source: lesbiankunitz     #im done with this disourse tbh #gonna go back to enjoying the olympics   
**274 notes**

  

  

The Globe and Mail @globeandmail  
Canada knocks Russia out of Olympics in brutal 7-3 rout http://dlvr.it/RM6628

The Onion @TheOnion  
Russian Hockey Coaches Check Morning Coffee For Arsenic https://trib.al/jLsksIG

  

  

~~From: Sid~~ ~~[22:51]~~  
~~To: Geno~~  
~~I'm sorry~~

~~From: Sid~~ ~~[22:55]~~  
~~To: Geno~~  
~~You played well~~

From: Sid [23:11]  
To: Geno  
Can I come round your room?

From: Geno [23:20]  
To: Sid  
🧤🥃🔱✔✔✔

  

  

CBC News @CBCNews  
Heart-stopping showdown with Slovakia means the U.S. is all that stands in way of hockey victory for Team Canada https://www.cbc.ca/1.5398132

The Independent @Independent  
Golden girls of Canada celebrate after beating USA 2-0 https://t.co/bTQjD07cV1

  

  

Day 17, the day of the gold medal game dawned with the Americans having won more Winter Olympic medals than any nation in history. The Canadians had one chance at victory: to win more Winter Olympic golds. The men's ice hockey, the final event of the games, would be the tie-breaker.

In the media and on the streets of Vancouver, all talk had turned to hockey. Scalpers were commanding $10,000 for prime tickets to the game. Bars downtown were taking reservations just to watch it on TV. The game would command an average audience of 16.6 million viewers - still the record for the most-watched television ever broadcast in Canadian history. It's hard to exaggerate the importance of hockey to the Canadian psyche. It's their sport. Canada would have given up all other baubles for this one.

  

  

The Onion @TheOnion  
Canadian Hockey Players Concerned By Fan Chants Of 'Death or Glory' https://trib.al/g4E3WYJ

The Guardian @guardian  
Nothing is more precious than ice hockey gold to Canada https://t.co/6pU0NPTnCf

The New York Times @nytimes  
Sure, these omegas are winning Olympic medals, but are they single? https://nyti.ms/34FeWZI

  

  

Fittingly, the game was a heart-stopper, one for the ages. "This was a classic hockey game," said Ron Wilson, the U.S. coach. "It's exactly the way the game should be played."

Canada came out firing on all cylinders, all desperate ferocity and eye-watering speed, against the unbeaten Americans to build up a 2-1 lead. But it was too good to be true. With just 24.4 seconds remaining in regulation, the Americans pulled their goalie and slammed home the equalizer. In true Hollywood fashion, the biggest game of the decade went to a sudden death overtime.

There, in the most famous moment of modern hockey, Crosby hoisted Canada's Olympic dreams onto his shoulders. Off a pass from Jarome Iginla, at an absurd angle, he swept the puck into the back of the net.

The stadium scoreboard asked fans inside Canada Hockey Place to 'Make Some Noise' one last time. Never has a sign been more superfluous. In watch parties outside the stadium, total strangers high-fived and hugged in the streets. Inside, the building went up like a red-and-white fireworks factory whose fuse had been lit. And in the midst of all the chaos, Sidney Crosby snatched for himself a small piece of forever.

  

  

**bangbangletang**

my blog is entirely red and white and im okay with that

Source: bangbangletang     #im not even canadian   
**141 notes**

  

**flowering29**

Someone please gif weber picking sid right off his feet for a hug

Source: puckinghell     #I DIED #IS THAT WHO IT WAS???? #SMOL   
**9 notes**

  

  

USA TODAY @USATODAY  
Crosby golden as Canada defeats USA 3-2 in overtime https://t.co/mAkS9CFrPD

CNN @CNN  
Witness to jubilation: Canadians "clanging cowbells and screaming like madmen" https://cnn.it/2MEM11Q

Daily Mail Online @MailOnline  
WINTER OLYMPICS 2010: Canada becomes most successful host nation ever with men's ice hockey gold https://trib.al/l1JQeyw

CBC News @CBCNews  
"The tapestry of Canada is vast, but these Games fused our country's small people into something bigger, something grander, something more," explains Bruce Arthur https://www.cbc.ca/1.5400170

The Globe and Mail @globeandmail  
"Nation-building at its best": How the Olympics ushered in a new kind of patriotism http://dlvr.it/RLWhQh

  

  

**canadiennecanuck**

i'm crying because we won yeah. but i'm also crying because there are roughly 2 million omega kids in canada watching sidney crosby become our greatest athlete

Source: canadiennecanuck   
**832 notes**

  

  

**National Post | MENU ▼**  
**VANCOUVER NOW**   Home   Medals   Results   Schedule   Athletes

HOCKEY  
**Crosby makes leap from superstar to legend**

_Photo: Sidney Crosby of Canada reacts after winning the gold medal after the ice hockey men's gold medal game between USA and Canada on Day 17 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Canada Hockey Place. Alex Livesey/Getty Images_

VANCOUVER -- It will be replayed like Paul Henderson's goal, or Mario Lemieux's, and it will be carved into this country's memory. Parents will tell their children about it; it will become myth, here. So, too, will the game. Canada 3, United States 2, on a Sidney Crosby goal in overtime that won us the last gold medal of our Games. Some hockey, this.

It was the culmination of these most Canadian Olympics, and it was perfect. Hockey and the rest of these Games had been gliding along on parallel but essentially separate tracks, like cross-coutry skiers in the classic style. They all wore the maple leaf, but these millionaires were separate, and in some minds more than equal.

But circumstances merged them. The Americans entered the day having won more Winter Olympic medals than ever before in history; Canada entered with the chance to beat them for gold medals. And Canada won.

"I dreamed of this moment," said Crosby. "Every kid dreams of that opportunity. It could have been anybody else. It could have been anybody in that room."

Maybe, but it wasn't. Canada's sweetheart has earned himself a place not only in our hearts, but in our history books. Proof positive of our Canadian values; a society in which anyone, provided he has the skill, the drive, the will, can be a hero. This, my friends, is as good as hockey gets.

It may not have been the most... [CLICK TO EXPAND]

  

  

**speedysid**

sidney crosby has a fucking olympic gold medal doNT TOUCH ME

Source: speedysid     #and he got the game winning goal #im proper ugly cryng   
**297 notes**

  

  

TSN @TSN_Sports  
Oh Canada! 80% of Canadians switch on for gold medal game https://www.tsn.ca/1.1415175

The Washington Post @washingtonpost  
Sidney Crosby's journey into the impossible https://wapo.st/2Z8wBYz

New York Times @nytimes  
100,000 condoms and no sexual harassment policy? The Olympics Committee is showing where its priorities lie. https://nyti.ms/2t8VkjK

The Independent @Independent  
A true generational talent, Canada's Sidney Crosby has shown that beauty lies in breaking boundaries https://t.co/sBFVdJWtI4

  

  

Persuading Crosby to talk about the Golden Goal is like pulling teeth. "People like to talk about that but we only got there because the whole team played so well," he tells me.

That's a very Crosby answer, carefully working in some praise for his teammates. Possibly that's the kind of person he is. Possibly that's what's expected in hockey. Possibly it's a reaction to years of teammates, including 2010 Olympic teammate Duncan Keith, later expressing frustration with Crosby's limelight stealing ways.

Still, an Olympic overtime winner? If there's ever a time when a guy can talk pump his own tires, it would be now. "It wasn't even a great goal. It was one of those things where that puck just kind of popped out and for whatever reason, I shot it. It wasn't a good angle and most times you'd take that to the net, and I think that's what [American goaltender Ryan] Miller probably thought too. It was just lucky the way it worked out. Lucky that [Jarome] Iginla made the pass." There it is again, I give up.

For all that Crosby might protest, the Vancouver Olympics made him a household name and a national hero. Twenty-two years old, with a Stanley Cup and Olympic gold, and so much left to come; he was on top of the world.

Crosby smiles when I present him with pictures of his younger self, huge wonky grin - back then he had all his own teeth - splitting his face, but it's bitter sweet. The happiness wasn't to last.

  

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I actually posted a [full list of sources](https://sequestering.tumblr.com/post/189947946135/source-dump-vancouver-2010) on Tumblr because, shockingly, people write a lot about the Olympics and I had way too many to put at the end of a chapter.
> 
> 2\. Winter Olympics previews article is largely from [here](https://www.espn.com/olympics/olyhockey/news/story?id=4782031).
> 
> 3\. 'Top 10 Hottest Omegas of the 2010 Winter Olympics' stole a lot of wording from [this article](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/mar/01/winter-olympics-sexiest-athlete) which is, to be fair, a lot less pervy than my version.
> 
> 4\. 'All eyes on Canada's first practice' contains a lot of stuff from [this article](https://web.archive.org/web/20100218181814/http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=42690.html#all+eyes+team+canadas+first+practice) of the same name.
> 
> 5\. The sexpot and bitches comments are sadly [real](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/atptour/2304243/Tennis-official-Justin-Gimelstob-serves-up-sexist-rant-against-top-female-players.html). They were made by Justin Gimelstob about women tennis players. You can't make it up.
> 
> 6\. 'Superstar to legend' article excerpt is taken near word for word from [this](https://web.archive.org/web/20100304112856/https://www.cbc.ca/olympics/blogs/brucearthur/2010/02/crosby-makes-leap-from-superstar-to-legend.html). Nothing I wrote could come close to capturing Bruce Arthur's dramatic Canadian adulation.

**Author's Note:**

> Detailed CW: Mentions of sexual harassment and assault, discussion of in-world equivalent to conversion therapy, themes that might be triggering to those with gender dysphoria, threats of violence, canon-typical violence. One use of really nasty ableist language, various uses of sexist/homophobic language. Homophobia and racism. The kind of rape culture that comes with men's sports. LGBT and feminist themes that may not reflect the author's/the reader's ideas of good activism.
> 
> ~~Updates will be once a month, though hopefully more like once a fortnight.~~ Updates have not been once a month for some time. I am trying to keep them to at least once every two months.
> 
> Feel free to come hit me up on [tumblr](https://sequestering.tumblr.com/).


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